Industry News of the Day for June 6, 2019

By iDEA | June 6, 2019

Industry News:

  • Sports Handle, 6.6.19 – Handle Down In April, May? That’s Not Cause For Concern
    • Sports betting tax revenue has not exceeded expectations in most non-New Jersey states (in most cases due to overestimations), and now the sleepier days on the U.S. betting calendar are approaching, following the soon-to-conclude NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Some in the media have suggested that April declines in betting handle are cause for concern, that maybe less than a year after the Supreme Court opened the door for legal sports betting on a state-by-state basis that consumers are losing interest.

West Virginia:

  • AP, 6.6.19 – West Virginia Sports Betting App Delayed
    • West Virginia lottery officials say the launch of a sports betting app has been delayed to ensure compliance with a federal law that deals with interstate gambling. Lottery Director John Myers says Wednesday that the Draft Kings sports wagering app has been put on hold.
  • WV Lottery, 6.5.19 – Sports Wagering App Delayed
    • The launch of the Draft Kings sports wagering app has been delayed to ensure compliance with the Federal Wire Act according to West Virginia Lottery Director John Myers. The Lottery tested the Draft Kings sports betting app in late May to authorize Draft Kings to move forward.
  • WV Metro News, 6.5.19 – Server Locations Delaying Launch Of Sports Betting App In Charles Town
    • The launch of a sports betting app through Draft Kings at the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town is going to be delayed “several more weeks,” according to state Lottery Director John Myers. Myers told MetroNews on Wednesday that while all testing is complete on the app, officials are making sure that the servers needed to run the show are functioning in West Virginia.

Connecticut:

  • NBC Connecticut, 6.5.19 – Top Priorities Cannabis And Gambling Fail In 2019 Session
    • Officially, Wednesday evening, two of the top priorities Democrats had been working on for months died in the final hours of the legislative session. Legislative leaders had hoped to make Connecticut the latest state to have legal cannabis sales and regulations, and to allow for sports wagering, at the very least when it comes to sports betting.

Michigan:

  • MI Bets, 6.5.19 – Michigan Governor Opposes Online Slots, But Likes Online Blackjack, Poker, Sports Betting
    • Michigan’s online casino gaming plans might be at risk of a significant delay. MI Bets has learned that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration is opposing a major component of the online gambling bill. According to a new legislative proposal obtained by MI Bets, the Michigan Department of Treasury wants the online casino bill, which has been years in the making, to exclude the authorization of online slots because they might be too similar to games already offered by the state iLottery.

Federal News:

  • Courthouse News Service, 6.4.19 – White House Crosshairs On Online Lotteries Lifted By Judge
    • In a boon to the growing market of internet gambling, a federal judge barred the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday from expanding the Wire Act to cover online lotteries. New Hampshire became one of just six states to offer a so-called iLottery with instant Powerball and Mega Millions games in September 2018, but the state’s new revenue stream faced extinction two months later when the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel took it upon itself to reinterpret the Wire Act of 1961.
  • PA Online Casino, 6.5.19 – Court Sides With Lottery On Wire Act, But iGaming Not Out Of The Woods Yet
    • On Monday, the New Hampshire Lottery Commission breathed a sigh of relief as US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro sided with gambling interests. Specifically, the 60-plus page opinion found in favor of online gambling, lotteries and casinos and against the Department of Justice’s new Wire Act interpretation.

Overall News:

  • PlayUSA, 6.5.19 – Trouble For Online Casinos And Sportsbooks? New Apple Policy Could Shut Apps Down
    • The rumors were already swirling about gaming apps struggling to get in the Apple App Store. Now the whispers are written down in black and white. The latest update to the App Store Review Guidelines spells out some new rules for real-money gaming apps that will have a big impact on the industry.
  • Legal Sports Report, 6.5.19 – The Major Issues Behind Biometric Data And Its Potential In Legal Sports Betting
    • At the recent Sports Lawyers Association Conference in Phoenix, representatives from the four major sports leagues talked about the future of player tracking and biometric data. The issue most recently popped up late last year when the now-defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF) planned to put wearable technology on its players to collect such information for wagering purposes.
  • Sports Handle, 6.5.19 – How ‘Unofficial’ Sports Betting Data May Be Better Than ‘Official League Data’
    • Legislatures in two states — Illinois and Tennessee — have now passed laws mandating that to-be licensed sportsbooks purchase only “official” league data if they wish to offer live in-play wagering. Have you ever wondered, what the heck is official data, and how does it differ in origin and practice from “unofficial” data? Great. The goal of this article is to answer that — through a conversation with a pair of entrepreneurs who are developing an in-play wagering product for the sportsbooks in states that are giving operators the freedom of choice.
  • Play Pennsylvania, 6.5.19 – How Do You Like Them Apples? New IOS Policy Threatens Online Casinos
    • Another day, another hurdle for online casinos. This time, the problem comes from a policy change on the Apple Store that profoundly affects gambling sites.
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