Industry News of the Day for July 27, 2020
iDEA Growth Member News:
- Legal Sports Report, 7.26.20 – Springfield Shocker: Illinois Sports Betting Remote Registration Ends Today
- Governor J.B. Pritzker abruptly rescinded remote registration for mobile Illinois sports betting accounts as of tomorrow, effectively ending DraftKings‘ plans to launch its app in the state for now.
Industry News:
- ESPN, 7.27.20 – Baseball Betting Booms At Sportsbooks On Opening Weekend
- The $100,000 baseball bets, one after another, started coming in over the weekend at the sportsbook at Borgata, the last casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Sports Handle, 7.24.20 – Get A Grip: Migration To Legal Channels, House Reps Take Aim At Handle Tax, DK-IL, More
- Here’s the weekend (or fashionably late) Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top U.S. sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
- Legal Sports Report, 7.27.20 – MGM Exec: Esports Betting Upside Uncapped Thanks To Low Competition
- Nobody ever got rich following the crowd. And in the US market, one way to go against the flow could be to embrace esports betting.
Overall Industry News:
- The Wall Street Journal, 7.27.20 – Rush Street Interactive To Go Public As Part Of $1.8 Billion Deal
- Rush Street Interactive LP agreed to go public via a merger with a blank-check company that will value the online sports-and-casino betting company at about $1.8 billion including debt.
- PlayPennsylvania, 7.24.20 – Rushing To Wall Street: Rush Street Looks To Follow PA Gaming Public Stock Trend
- Rush Street Interactive, the group behind BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse, is looking to spin off and become a company listed on a stock exchange, according to Bloomberg.
Federal News:
- Legal Sports Report, 7.24.20 – Federal Handle Tax Targeted In New Bipartisan House Bill
- The co-chairs of the recently-relaunched Congressional Gaming Congress introduced bipartisan legislation Friday to end the federal excise tax on legal sports bets.
- iGB North America, 7.27.20 – Congressional Bill Aims To Scrap .25% Federal Handle Tax
- Representatives and congressional Gaming Caucus co-chairs Dina Titus and Guy Reschenthaler have introduced a federal bill – HR7790 – to repeal the US’s 0.25% excise tax on sports wagering handle.
- SBC Americas, 7.27.20 – AGA Welcomes Repeal Of Meaningless Tax On Sportsbooks
- American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller has issued a statement on bipartisan legislation introduced late last week by Republicans Dina Titus and Guy Reschenthaler to repeal the federal excise and head taxes.
Sports League News:
- New York Post, 7.25.20 – Sports Betting Bonanza Coming – If Coronavirus Cooperates
- We have some things to look forward to, starting with MLB openers all across the country. Here’s the rest of the late-summer sports wave.
Massachusetts:
- Legal Sports Report, 7.24.20 – Massachusetts Sports Betting Gets New Life Through Jobs Package
- A late economic development package submitted in Massachusetts could lead to another state legalizing sports betting in 2020.
- Sports Handle, 7.24.20 – Massachusetts Suddenly On Sports Betting Fast Track
- With just a week before its formal legislative session ends, Massachusetts lawmakers are implementing their own version of the two-minute drill to push legal sports betting into the end zone.
- Gambling Compliance, 7.27.20 – Massachusetts Moving Sports-Betting Bill With Limited Market Access (subscription paywall)
- A coalition led by the Boston Red Sox is pitching the Massachusetts legislature to quickly pass a bill this week that would limit online sports-betting licenses to the state’s three casinos plus DraftKings and FanDuel.
- The Boston Globe, 7.24.20 – Sports Betting Is Back On The Table In The Mass. Legislature
- The proposed measure would generate an estimated $50 million in annual tax revenue.
- Boston Herald, 7.24.20 – Massachusetts Must Take Gaming Digital Or Lag Behind
- leaders must do whatever they can to protect existing sources of revenue in addition to finding new ones. With online gambling, Mass. leaders have the opportunity to do both with minimal effort.
Rhode Island:
- Gaming Intelligence, 7.27.20 – Rhode Island Drops In-Person Sign-Up Requirement For Online Sports Betting
- Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has signed legislation into law to allow adults to open online sports betting accounts without visiting a retail venue.
New York:
- Gambling.Com, 7.24.20 – New York Lawmaker Optimistic About Mobile Sports Betting
- Joseph Addabbo, who has fought for more than two years to bring mobile sports betting to New York, is optimistic that something can be done in the legislature this year.
Illinois:
- Sports Handle, 7.26.20 – Suspension Of In-Person Registration Rule In Illinois Set To Expire
- It appears to be back to the book for patrons interested in sports betting in Illinois. The Executive Order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker suspending the in-person provision to register for a mobile/online wagering account is on track to expire when the clock strikes midnight Sunday night/Monday morning.
- Gambling Compliance, 7.27.20 – Remote Registration Halted For Illinois Sports Betting (subscription paywall)
- Remote registration for mobile sports-wagering accounts in Illinois abruptly ended overnight as Governor J.B. Pritzker allowed an executive order temporarily suspending requirement for players to register in person at casinos to expire.
Arkansas:
- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 7.25.20 – Appeal Filed Over Arkansas Casino Measure
- A group seeking to expand casino gambling in more than a dozen Arkansas counties filed an appeal Friday of Secretary of State John Thurston’s decision to block the proposed constitutional amendment from appearing on the November ballot.