Industry News of the Day for January 28, 2019

• Sports Handle, 1.26.19 – Get a Grip: The Week In Sports Betting And Sports: NY Regs Coming, Say No To Integrity Fee, More
  • Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories, and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.26.19 – The Week In Sports Betting: Appetite From Coast To Coast, And Beyond
  • It’s only been three short days since we published our last weekly recap, and it’s already time for another. We’re just in one of those stretches where every day seems to include a week’s worth of sports betting news.

Washington, DC:

• Sports Handle, 1.25.19 – C.’s Tangled Web Could Result In Awarding Sports Betting Contract With No Competitive Bidding
  • Six days ahead of a key sports wagering-related hearing, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed D.C. sports betting legislation into law.

New Jersey:

• Sports Handle, 1.25.19 – New Jersey Sports Betting Year One: Trends And Outlook
  • New Jersey sportsbooks in retail form and online took $1.24 billion in wagers in 2018 from mid-June when the first books launched until the end of the year, by which time eight in-person sportsbooks launched and eight more came online.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.25.19 – Hard Rock NJ Sports Betting App Is Coming Soon, Perhaps By Super Bowl?
  • New Jersey sports betting is getting a little rock ‘n’ roll in the near future. Hard Rock Atlantic City today announced the launch of online sports betting at HardRockSports.com. Well, kind of.
• Play NJ, 1.26.19 – NJ Online Gambling Set A New High Water Mark In 2018; Is The Best Still To Come?
  • 2018 was another banner year for the New Jersey online gambling industry. Records fell. Milestones were reached. New products were added. And the not-so-young industry continued to grow at an astounding rate. The now five-year-old industry is showing no signs of reaching a maturity point anytime soon.
• Asbury Park Press, 1.25.19 – Super Bowl 2019 could be biggest betting day ever with legal NJ sportsbooks
  • This is sports betting, an entirely legal and increasingly normalized enterprise that’s been bigger than ever during the NFL Playoffs. Over $1.2 billion was wagered on sports in New Jersey last year, including $500 million on football alone.
• AP, 1.26.19 – Hard Rock casino testing online sports betting in New Jersey
  • Atlantic City’s Hard Rock casino has begun offering online sports betting just over a week before the Super Bowl.

New York:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.25.19 – NY Sports Betting Rules Appear Ahead Of Key Gaming Meeting
  • New York is one step closer to having legal sports betting, as Legal Sports Report has obtained a draft copy of proposed rules in advance of next week’s gaming commission meeting.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.28.19 – No New Law Needed To Start NY Mobile Sports Betting, Senator Says
  • A key New York senator believes mobile NY sports betting needs any more legislative help. New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr., told Legal Sports Report that he plans to argue that mobile and online sports betting don’t need any further authorization from legislation, let alone a constitutional amendment.
• iGaming Business, 1.25.19 – New York regulator to begin sports betting talks
  • The New York State Gaming Commission will meet to discuss sports betting regulations for the state’s land-based casinos on Monday (January 28).

Pennsylvania:

• Play PA, 1.25.19 – Record 2018 Pa Casino Revenues A Precursor For Big Returns In 2019
  • For Pennsylvania’s casinos, slot machines helped fuel record revenue earnings in 2018. According to statistics released this month by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the slot machines and table games in Pennsylvania casinos produced a record gross revenue total of $3,248,681,377. That is the highest total ever in the industry’s 13 years of operation.
• Play PA, 1.26.19 – Harrah’s Philadelphia Hopes Its Book Is One Worth Checking Out
  • The Book at Harrah’s Philadelphia is hard to miss. The room features a giant video wall consisting of 20 85-inch TVs. On Thursday afternoon, The Book, officially opened for PA sports betting.

• Play USA, 1.25.19 – Pennsylvania Sports Betting Adds Two More Sportsbooks In Philadelphia
  • The South Philadelphia Turf Club (SPTC) opened its doors to the sports betting public last weekend. Then, on Thursday, Jan. 24, Harrah’s Philadelphia took its sports betting live after the mandatory two-day testing period.
• Gambling.com, 1.25.19 – Pennsylvania Online Sportsbooks Won’t Take Super Bowl Bets
  • Pennsylvania sports bettors will be able to place their first-ever legal Super Bowl bet ahead of the Big Game Feb. 2. They just won’t do it from a mobile device.

Virginia:

• USA Online Casino News, 1.26.19 – Virginia Governor Proposes Study on Gambling in the State
  • The governor of Virginia has proposed a study that would look at how the state should move forward with gambling plans. While on its face, this looks like a promising deal, in reality, many pro-gambling legislators see it as a stalling tactic in a state that is notoriously behind its neighbor states with regard to gambling.

Arkansas:

• WREG Memphis, 1.24.19 – Southland plans call for casino, hotel, hundreds of jobs in West Memphis
  • Tunica casinos could have some competition headed their way as Southland Gaming and Racing begins a multi-million dollar expansion that is set to bring jobs and new life to West Memphis, Arkansas.

Massachusetts:

• Online Poker Report, 1.28.19 – Reading the Signs: Will Massachusetts Legalize Online Gambling in 2019?
  • This is the second part in an ongoing OPR series outlining the states most likely to pass online gambling and/or sports betting legislation in 2019. This time: A case for Massachusetts.
• Play USA, 1.26.19 – Massachusetts Governor Adds Another Sports Betting Bill To The Table
  • Second term Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently introduced a bill to legalize and tax sports betting on professional sports online and at casinos in Massachusetts. This is just the latest sports betting bill to be proposed in Massachusetts.
• WGBH, 1.25.19 – A Little Vegas In Boston: A New Casino Raises Hope (And Eyebrows)
  • Across the street from a sprawling power plant on the edge of Everett is an unlikely building: a gleaming glass tower emblazoned with the name of the Boston-area’s first casino, Encore.
• Everett Independent, 1.26.19 – Encore Supports Move to Legalize Sports Betting in MA
  • Charlie Baker shocked many last week with an out-of-the-blue proposal to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts – with one of the prime sites for the proposed new wagering system to be at Encore Boston Harbor.

Louisiana:

• The Advocate, 1.26.19 – How sports betting, early childhood education in Louisiana might become an unlikely alliance
  • The sponsor of sports betting legislation said Friday he is open to dedicating revenue from the enterprise for early childhood education, which is suddenly getting a push from a wide range of state and local leaders.

Iowa:

• KCRG, 1.26.19 – Lawmakers, casinos preparing for potential sports betting legalization
  • Iowa lawmakers may soon address a new form of revenue: legalizing sports gambling- and some in the business say preparations are already being made, and it may go into effect sooner rather than later.
• KIWA Radio, 1.27.19 – Sports Betting Likely To Legalize “Mobile Wagering”
  • A key member of the Iowa House says there’s a “very good shot” sports betting will be legalized in Iowa this year – and he predicts the law will let gamblers use their smart phones to place wagers on sporting events.

Arizona:

• AZ Family, 1.25.19 – Bill would allow sports betting at AZ casinos, bars, stadiums
  • Arizona could become the first state to legalize tribal sports gambling under a newly introduced bill that would also permit electronic sports betting kiosks off reservations in places like bars, clubs and stadiums.

South Dakota:

• KEVN, 1.25.19 – Lawmakers file resolution on sports betting
  • South Dakota voters might get a chance to decide if wagering on sporting events is a good bet.

Federal News:

• The Nevada Independent, 1.27.19 – DOJ opinion on Wire Act will not survive legal challenge
  • On January 14th, the U.S. Department of Justice, in a rebuke of its previous position announced in 2011, released an opinion claiming that all forms of state-authorized Internet and interactive wagering including sports, state lotteries, poker, and casino games are now illegal.

Sports League News:

• OnlineGambling.com, 1.25.19 – Soccer, MMA, NHL All Star Game, All Have Betting Opportunities
  • With the Super Bowl still a little more than a week away, gamblers have to cool their heels until the mountain of prop bets they made, or are about to make, start to come through. What to do until then? Plenty it turns out. There are several betting opportunities out there.

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Cheddar, 1.25.19 – Sports Betting Execs Wager that the Super Bowl Will Deliver Its Biggest Score Yet
  • The stakes of this year’s Super Bowl are higher than ever ー literally. Following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling year that cleared the way for sports gambling, fans in seven states can bet on the upcoming Super Bowl for the first time ー and leaders in the budding industry are anticipating the Big Game will deliver their biggest day yet.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.26.19 – Works Adds More Talent Before Launch Of NJ Sports Betting App
  • Sports betting company Bet.Works continues to add top talent to its growing staff ahead of its launch of a New Jersey sports betting app for sports media company theScore.
• MediaPost, 1.25.19 – Arkadium Expands Into Online Betting, Partners With Sportradar
  • Arkadium, creator of AI-powered interactive content for over 500 publishers, like CNN and USA Today, announced a new partnership with sports data intelligence company Sportradar.

Overall Industry News:

• ESPN, 1.28.19 – Americans expected to bet $6B on Super Bowl LIII, survey says
  • Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams will be the first NFL title game since legal sportsbooks began popping up in states outside of Nevada — and Americans will have a lot riding on it.
• USA Casino News, 1.25. 19 – Online Gambling Is Quietly Growing Into a Big Business
  • The casino business has been in the United States since the 1950s, and has slowly made its way into states other than Nevada. Racetracks have been around for over 100 years. However, many gaming lovers have been a little frustrated with the growth of other forms of gambling in the United States.
• Techspective, 1.27.19 – The Future of Online Sports Betting Embraces New Technology
  • With the United States and other international jurisdictions removing legal obstacles for​ ​online sports betting​, sportsbooks will continue to seek an edge over new competitors. Similar to the first wave of digital sports betting, companies will leverage innovation over the upcoming decade to prevent the loss of market share.