Industry News of the Day for June 9, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• PlayUSA, 6.8.20 – DraftKings Sportsbook Lands Bay Mills Casino As Partner To Enter Michigan
  • A major player in the world of legal sports betting has found an entrypoint into Michigan.
• PlayColorado, 6.8.20 – DraftKings Delivers Livestreaming To CO Bettors
  • Colorado sports bettors have a new live sports betting toy.

Industry News:

• Legal Sports Report, 6.8.20 – The Week In Sports Betting News: Colorado’s Start Not Too Rocky
  • Major US sports are still suspended, but sports betting is beginning to rebound with sports that were previously not a main focus for bettors getting the spotlight currently.
• PlayUSA, 6.8.20 – NTRA Head: Horse Racing Aims To Retain Sports Bettors After Shutdown
  • Alex Waldrop is as optimistic about the current and near-future state of the pari-mutuel industry as a president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association could be after the Triple Crown has been postponed, reshuffled, altered.
• WSN, 6.9.20 – Sportsbooks Rebound With Major Leagues Announcing Their Reform
  • The coronavirus pandemic has hit industries hard across the United States and internationally. With most major sports leagues in the United States suspended since March 12th, the sports betting industry has felt the effects as hard as anybody else.

Overall Industry News:

• Front Office Sports, 6.9.20 – Monkey Knife Fight ‘Aggressively Open For Business’ As It Builds Platform
  • While many companies tightened their budgets during the coronavirus shutdowns, daily fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight was eager to get in front of new users.

Federal News:

• Bloomberg, 6.9.20 – Federal Regulation Could Sweeten The Sports Betting Pot
  • Sports betting has finally come to the U.S. Yet, in perhaps the most capitalist economy in the world, the rollout of the industry can be described as anything but smooth, say Alexander Kane, a sports betting expert and entrepreneur, and derivatives lawyer David Aron.

Pennsylvania:

• PlayPennsylvania, 6.8.20 – ‘Rivers Clean’ And Ready To Go: Rivers Casino Pittsburgh First To Reopen In PA
  • Pennsylvania is slowly emerging from its coronavirus-induced slumber. After being closed for eighty-five days and counting, slots will jingle and dice will tumble at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh on June 9.

Washington, D.C.:

• Washington Business Journal, 6.8.20 – Sportsbooks Won’t Open Until 2021 In Latest Delay For D.C. Sports Betting (subscription paywall)
  • The D.C. CFO’s office is no longer expecting to collect $1 million-plus in taxes from privately operated sportsbooks this year.

Michigan:

• PlayMichigan, 6.9.20 – Northville Downs Has Four ADW Horse Racing App Deals In The Works
  • Whether or not the live horse racing season gets off and running at Northville Downs this month remains unclear.

Illinois:

• Sports Handle, 6.8.20 – Illinois Mobile Sports Betting Rules Reaching A State Of Confusion
  • When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an executive order Thursday that would allow sports bettors to register remotely for wagering accounts, he, along with the Illinois Gaming Board, created some confusion.
• US Bets, 6.8.20 – Arlington Park And ITHA Closer, But Still No New Deal
  • Despite making progress over the weekend in extended negotiations, the length of an agreement continues to be the major divide between Arlington Park and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association for live horse racing.

Iowa:

• Sioux City Journal, 6.8.20 – Thanks To NASCAR, Iowa Sports Betting Slowly Gears Up
  • Sidelined for more than two months because of coronavirus concerns, Iowa gamblers are back in action.

Ohio:

• PlayMichigan, 6.8.20 – Ready, Set, OH! Gov. DeWine Says Ohio Casinos And Racinos Can Reopen In 2 Weeks
  • Ohio casinos reopening may take place as soon as June 19. Exactly what that entails remains to be a fluid situation, however.
• WHBC, 6.9.20 – Moving Forward With Sports Betting, But Fast Enough?
  • 8 states already have sports betting. That has the legislature moving faster to bring a version of betting to Ohio.

Colorado:

• Bloomberg, 6.8.20 – Colorado Sports Betting Off To Slow Start With Leagues Shuttered
  • Sports betting in Colorado got off to a slow start in May, in part because there are very few contests to wager on and because all the state’s casinos are closed.

Oklahoma:

• Gambling Compliance, 6.9.20 – U.S. Federal Government Approves Oklahoma Compacts, Enabling Sports Betting (subscription paywall)
  • The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has approved two controversial tribal-state gaming compacts signed in April by Governor Kevin Stitt, despite opposition from Oklahoma’s attorney general, other Indian tribes and top legislative leaders, Stitt’s office said Monday.

California:

• Gambling Compliance, 6.8.20 – Leagues Battle Tribes In Titanic Clash Over California Sports-Betting (subscription paywall)
  • A Senate committee on Tuesday will take up a constitutional amendment legalizing sports betting throughout California that has support of U.S. pro sports leagues and card rooms but is strongly opposed by the state’s tribal gaming industry.
• Yogonet, 6.8.20 – California’s Sports Betting Legislation Opposed By State’s Tribe
  • As California moves toward legalizing sports gambling for tribal casinos, the project has garnered little support among the state’s Native American tribes.

Oregon:

• Legal Sports Report, 6.8.20 – UFC, Table Tennis Lead Oregon Sports Betting Resurgence In May
  • Oregon sports betting rebounded in May as sports began to return compared to April, when there was very little to bet on.