Industry News of the Day for June 24, 2019
Industry News:
- AP, 6.23.19 – States’ Push To Legalize Sports Betting Differs By Region
- In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for every state to legalize sports betting , a regional divide has opened as states decide whether to expand their gambling options.
- Sports Handle, 6.21.19 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports And Sports Betting: PA Proof Money In Mobile, 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.
- Boston Globe (subscription paywall), 6.23.19 – New Hampshire And Maine Could Soon Approve Sports Betting
- The sports betting market in New England is about to get more crowded. The Maine Legislature this week passed a bill to legalize wagering on athletic contests, just days after neighboring New Hampshire’s lawmakers approved a similar measure.
- NJ Online Gambling, 6.21.19 – Could New Jersey, Pennsylvania Be In Dead Heat For East Coast Gaming Supremacy In 2019?
- New Jersey and Pennsylvania share a border, and their commercial casino gaming markets are no. 3 and no. 2, respectively, in the nation. They trail only Nevada. The two East Coast states compete for many of the same gambling dollars, but these days there are plenty to go around.
New Jersey:
- Poker News, 6.21.19 – Inside Gaming: NJ Revenue Up Again In May, Sports Betting Challenging NV
- While the poker world’s attention has been firmly focused upon Las Vegas and the 2019 World Series of Poker the last few weeks, we did want to share a quick look at the latest monthly report from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, one showing that casinos in Atlantic City continue to demonstrate increases in revenue — collectively, anyway.
Pennsylvania:
- Play Pennsylvania, 6.23.19 – Pennsylvania Gambling Expansion Revenue
- The new Pennsylvania gambling expansion law passed largely because the state desperately needed a new source of tax revenue. One of the biggest sources of that revenue will be the upfront licensing fees for all the new types of gambling. Even with the potential for big returns, the first state budget after expansion only expected $100 million from online gambling. That is a figure Pennsylvania surpassed after the first mini-casino auction.
- Penn Live, 6.21.19 – So How Did Pa.’s Casinos Fare In May? Data Shows First Fantasy Games Comparisons
- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board posted its normal monthly report over the past couple weeks, updating on games and tax revenue for May 2019 and, in many cases, comparing those to a year ago.
Illinois:
- Sports Handle, 6.24.19 – Still Waiting: Here’s Why Pritzker Hasn’t Signed IL Sports Betting Into Law
- It’s been more than three weeks since the Illinois General Assembly passed a massive capital bill that includes legalized sports betting and sent it to Governor J.B. Pritzker, yet Prtizker, who tasked the General Assembly with legalizing sports betting, has not signed it yet.
New York:
- Law360 (subscription paywall), 6.21.19 – Mobile And Online Sports Betting Bill Fails To Pass In NY
- Mobile and online sports betting in New York will have to wait even as the market grows in neighboring New Jersey after New York lawmakers failed to pass proposed legislation that would have expanded sports betting beyond the state’s four licensed casinos.
Federal News:
- PA Online Casino, 6.21.19 – Congress Proposes Amendment To Defund DOJ Wire Act Enforcement
- Members of Congress proposed an amendment to block funding for the Department of Justice to enforce its new interpretation of the Wire Act. Online Poker Report first reported that Congress considered amending an appropriations bill to block funding needed to enforce the DOJ’s new Wire Act opinion. It appears that the amendment will not make it into the final language of the bill though.
Sports League News:
- New York Post, 6.22.19 – MLB’s Approach To Gambling Enters The Twilight Zone
- Last week, ESPN staff writer David Purdum filed a credible story claiming that the Cubs are considering the addition of betting kiosks — sportsbooks — for easy and added in-game action inside and just outside Wrigley Field. It’s a credible story as the Cubs declined comment, a tacit confirmation.
- Penn Sportsbooks, 6.21.19 – NBA Wants You To Bet On 90-Second Pretend Basketball Games Next Season
- Next season, you might be able to bet on NBA games both real and virtual. On Wednesday, the NBA announced its partnership with Highlight Games Limited that will create NBA Last 90, a virtual sports betting game that will use actual NBA highlights and footage in its simulations. The product will debut in the US and European gaming and lottery markets during the 2019-20 NBA season.
iDEA Growth Member News:
- Play USA, 6.21.19 – Why It’s Time For New Jersey To Lift Golden Nugget’s NBA Betting Ban
- New Jersey lawmakers have a great opportunity in front of them. They can right one of the very few wrongs contained in the bill that legalized sports betting in the Garden State last year. All they need to do is get behind a new bill. One that would remove the restriction preventing casino and sports team owners from taking bets on the sports they are involved with.
Overall Industry News:
- Reuters, 6.23.19 – Eldorado Resorts Clinches $18 Billion Cash And Stock Deal For Caesars: Sources
- S. casino operator Eldorado Resorts Inc has agreed to merge with Caesars Entertainment Corp in a cash and stock deal that values its peer at about $18 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.