Industry News of the Day for June 13, 2019
Industry News:
- AP, 6.12.19 – US Sports Bets Hit $9 Billion A Year After Court Ruling
- At least $9 billion has been bet —legally— on sports in the U.S. in the year since New Jersey’s victory in a U.S. Supreme Court case cleared the way for other states to do it.
New Jersey:
- NJ Gambling Sites, 6.12.19 – New Jersey Sports Betting Has Strong May Courtesy Of A Growing Online Takeover
- Nearly one year ago to the day, sports betting in New Jersey began. Already, the industry has turned heads, particularly when it comes to online wagering. And once again, the state’s online sportsbooks continued to carry the sports betting load in May.
- EGR Global, 6.12.19 – NJ Online Gaming Revenues Up 58% As Cross-Sell Continues To Pay
- New Jersey has reported a 58% year-on-year rise in online gaming revenues for the month of May, as the industry continues to benefit from cross-sell from sports betting. Online casino and poker was worth a combined $38.3m in May, with sports betting worth $15.5m. As highlighted by analyst Steve Ruddock, the increase in online casino versus 2018 ($14.2m) was almost equal to total sports betting revenue ($15.5m).
- Press of Atlantic City, 6.13.19 – Atlantic City Casino Revenue Up For 12th Straight Month
- Casino gaming revenue increased by more than 22% in May, marking the 12th consecutive month of growth for the market.
- NJ Gambling Sites, 6.12.19 – One Year Ago, New Jersey’s Dreams Came True At Monmouth’s William Hill Sportsbook
- It was June 14 of last year when New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy made the first legal sports wager in Garden State history. Neither of those bets panned out. But that betting slip, coupled with years of legal battles, put Monmouth Park in the NJ sports betting history books for good.
Pennsylvania:
- Play Pennsylvania, 6.12.19 – First Satellite Casino License Approval Doesn’t Come Without Controversy
- After fits and starts, Pennsylvania has finally approved the first of five Pennsylvania mini-casino proposals. Penn National Gaming’s application for Hollywood Casino Morgantown was approved June 12 following a hearing before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
- Penn Bets, 6.12.19 – Rush Street Announces That Sugarhouse Casino, Online Gambling Platforms To Rebrand
- On Wednesday in Harrisburg, the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia informed the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that it will rebrand as Rivers Casino Philadelphia. Rush Street Gaming, the parent company, first unveiled the plans at the regularly scheduled hearing. The company owns Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, SugarHouse’s sister property.
New Hampshire:
- Legal Sports Report, 6.12.19 – New Hampshire Sports Betting Is Almost Here; Legislature To Pass Bill Thursday
- Sports betting legislation is all set to receive final legislative approval in the New Hampshire House on Thursday after getting a recommendation of concurrence Wednesday in the Ways and Means Committee. The House vote is considered a mere formality, according to bill author Rep. Timothy Lang.
Washington, DC:
- Washington Post, 6.11.19 – $215 Million D.C. Sports Gambling Contract Includes Politically Connected Subcontractors
- C. officials this week proposed a $215 million sole-source contract to manage online sports gambling and the lottery, a deal that would benefit several politically connected individuals as well as executives of a company that the city ousted from running a homeless shelter.
Montana:
- Sports Handle, 6.12.19 – Montana Lawmakers Fail to Override Governor on Sports Betting Bill
- On Tuesday morning, the Montana state legislature announced the results of Montana’s veto override vote on sports betting bill SB 330, and the mail vote fell short of the two-thirds threshold needed to overturn Governor Steve Bullock’s veto.
- AP, 6.11.19 – Veto Override Effort Stalls For Montana Sports Betting Bill
- Montana lawmakers have failed to override a Gov. Steve Bullock veto of a bill that would have allowed private companies to run sports betting operations after the governor favored a separate measure using the state lottery.
New York:
- WHEC, 6.12.19 – Sports Betting Coming To New York Midsummer
- By the end of this month, you could start placing legal sports bets in New York. Earlier this week, the state Gaming Commission voted unanimously to allow sports gambling at four casinos, including del Lago Resort & Casino in Seneca County. The state’s tribal casinos plan to allow wagers too.
Rhode Island:
- Sports Handle, 6.12.19 – Rhode Island On Track For Football Season Mobile Launch
- Three months after legalizing mobile/internet sports betting, the state of Rhode Island appears on track to hit its mark of launching by the start of the football season. Rhode Island would become just the third state so far outside of Nevada to offer state-wide sports betting over the internet — New Jersey began offering it last summer and Pennsylvania launched its first mobile app in May.
Federal News:
- Online Poker Report, 6.12.19 – New DOJ Memo: Feds Won’t Enforce Wire Act Beyond Sports Betting Until 2020
- The US Department of Justice is waiting until at least 2020 to enforce its reinterpretation of the Wire Act, according to a memo sent by the agency today. That comes on the heels of a loss in federal court it suffered earlier this month. The DOJ, with an opinion crafted in 2018, had said the Wire Act applies to all forms of interstate gambling, and not just sports betting.
- CDC Gaming Reports, 6.11.19 – Political Pressure Could Be Forcing DOJ’s Hand In The Next Wire Act Legal Battle
- Proponents of online gaming aren’t yet ready to spike the football. But the end zone is in view. The ruling 10 days ago by a New Hampshire federal judge that set aside the latest U.S. Department of Justice opinion on the 58-year-old Wire Act allows states to continue offering both online casino gambling and online lottery wagering.
Sports League News:
- Arizona Republic, 6.12.19 – How Sports Betting Is Finding Its Way Into Arenas
- Sports betting used to be something that disgusted fans and leagues alike. Now it’s becoming the new normal. ESPN’s David Purdum said on Tuesday that team owners in Illinois and New York want their stadiums to feature gambling; both states have yet to legalize sports gambling.
iDEA Growth Member News:
- Online Poker Report, 6.12.19 – In New Jersey Online Gambling Revenue, It’s Still Golden Nugget By A Mile
- While the US online gambling industry keeps one eye on the Wire Act, it’s business as usual in New Jersey. The NJ online gambling operators combined to earn $38.3 million in May, which is their second-most profitable month to date.
Overall Industry News:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6.10.19 – States Should Embrace ‘National Safety Exchange’ To Safeguard Online Sports Gambling
- The eyes of the sports gaming world will be on Atlantic City this week when the East Coast Gaming Congress opens Wednesday. Among those speaking will be New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy — the “Murphy” in Murphy vs. NCAA, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow legalized gambling on professional and amateur sports in any state.
- Variety, 6.13.19 – Media’s Big Bet: Sports Wagers Will (Hopefully) Keep Viewers Watching TV
- The bottom and left-hand edges of the screen during his hourlong program, “The Daily Wager,” on ESPNews, aren’t crammed with batting averages or free-throw percentages but rather with stats on oddsmaking.
- Sports Handle, 6.13.19 – Q&A: William Hill’s Joe Asher Focused On ‘Deeply Ingrained Black Market’
- Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, has quickly become one of the most powerful voices in the rapidly expanding realm of legal sports wagering in the United States.