Industry News of the Day for July 3, 2023

By iDEA | July 3, 2023

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: Opinion: How Worried Should We Be About NCAA College Betting Scandals?
    • The story of suspicious bets placed in Ohio on a University of Alabama baseball game appears as though it may be the tip of an iceberg, and will likely linger over college sports and the sports betting worlds for some time. ESPN first reported the story on May 1. Ohio gaming regulators instructed operators in the state to stop taking bets on Alabama baseball games until further notice.
  • SBC Americas: White Hat Gaming CEO On Why Igaming Operators Are Returning To Outsourcing
    • For the past couple of years, the industry has bought into the idea that operators owning their own tech stack was the best long-term play. Huge deals for tech ranging from Penn acquiring theScore for $2 billion or the $3.3 billion play by DraftKings to buy SBTech had many wondering if the days of outsourcing things like player account management (PAM) were numbered.

Florida

  • PlayFL: Court Of Appeals Ruling Upholds Florida-Seminole Gaming Compact; Sports Betting Could Restart
    • On Friday, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Florida’s 2021 tribal-state gaming compact, vacating a District Court’s decision that the compact violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. West Flagler Associates and its various gaming entities sued to block the compact in August 2021. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel heard oral arguments in January from West Flagler Associates and defendant US Department of Interior and Secretary Deb Haaland.

Kentucky

  • PlayKentucky: FanDuel Won’t Be Only KY Sportsbook Partner For Churchill Downs Inc.
    • On Thursday, FanDuel confirmed a Kentucky sports betting partnership with Churchill Downs Inc. But based on how scant the details of the partnership are, as well as comments CDI’s CEO made in April, it appears CDI will have multiple partners in its home state. A FanDuel spokesperson would only confirm with PlayKentucky there was an arrangement in place between the two parties. Nothing else. In other words, he only affirmed that a FanDuel Kentucky platform would be available to bettors.

Nevada

  • CDC Gaming Reports: What Does Slowing Nevada Gaming Revenue Mean Going Forward?
    • From a surge coming out of the pandemic and despite Las Vegas visitation continuing to grow, Nevada gaming revenue has started to show slight year-over-year decreases, which raises the question: Is the boom over? In May, Nevada’s gaming revenue at $1.28 billion was down just under 1% from a year ago, marking declines in two of the last three months.

New York

  • PlayNY: NY Online Sports Betting Fastest Ever To $25 Billion
    • In less than 18 months, New York online sportsbooks have taken over $25 billion in legal bets, reaching the milestone figure faster than any other legal gambling jurisdiction in the US. From January 2022 through June 25, 2023, more than $25.15 billion has been gambled using digital sportsbooks, according to data released Friday by the NY State Gaming Commission.

North Carolina

  • NC Sharp: Tim Moore’s Scandals Distract From Efforts To Expand Casinos Through Budget Bill
    • North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore’s growing list of scandals doesn’t include legal gambling expansion efforts. Two weeks since the filing of a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Moore and only days after the US Supreme Court rejected a court case bearing his name about the exceptionality of state legislatures, Moore is carrying on with business as usual. The NC Legislature is deep in budget talks, which some lawmakers have indicated won’t conclude by the desired deadline of July 1.

Ohio

  • PlayOhio: Ohio Sportsbooks See Slight Decline To $446 Million In May Bets
    • Ohio sports betting handle came in at $446 million in May, a 15% decline from April after falling 30% from March to April. Revenue, however, did not fall quite as much. Sportsbooks did better overall with the handle they took in, making $57.8 million. That’s just a 9% drop from April’s $63.7 million. Ohio sports betting has entered a summer slow down, but Major League Baseball and other sports will keep betting handle from dipping too low.
  • Gaming Today: Ohio Lawmakers Double Tax Rate on Sports Betting Operators in New State Budget
    • Ohio state lawmakers passed a $86.1 billion state budget Friday that would double the tax rate on sports betting operators to 20% starting this month. The change in the sports gaming tax rate from 10% to 20% is expected to boost Ohio’s sports betting tax revenue by $100 million to $135 million annually, according to a fiscal note on the fiscal year (FY) 2024-2025 budget bill (House Bill 33) approved by lawmakers yesterday.

Pennsylvania

  • PlayPennsylvania: Steps Remaining For WynnBet Pennsylvania Online Casino Launch
    • While Pennsylvania online casinos are booming, another one is coming to the mix soon. WynnBet Casino PA is the next platform to likely launch in the Keystone State, but it still has some steps to complete. What does that consist of and how is it doing in the other states it currently operates in?

Virginia

  • Sports Handle: Virginia Surpasses $1 Billion In Gross Sports Wagering Revenue
    • Virginia became the seventh state in the post-PASPA era to surpass $1 billion in gross sports wagering operator revenue after the Virginia Lottery reported Friday that sportsbooks claimed $48.1 million in gross revenue for May. The Old Dominion reached the milestone in 29 months of legal wagering after launching in late January 2021. Virginia joins New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana in the $1 billion club, with the Hoosier State reaching the 10-figure mark in April.

West Virginia

  • PlayWV: Betly Shuts Down Sportsbook And Casino Apps In West Virginia To Recalibrate
    • Betly’s sportsbook and casino apps are temporarily unavailable in West Virginia, but customers won’t have to wait long to wager with the company. According to Betly, a new sportsbook/casino combo product will debut later this summer in the state. The future Betly product will replace both Betly Mardi Gras and Betly Wheeling Sportsbook under one rebranded mobile gaming application called “Betly Casino & Sportsbook.”
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