Industry News of the Day for March 1, 2019

By iDEA | March 1, 2019

iDEA Growth in the News:

  • Online Poker Report, 2.28.19 – DOJ Set To Extend Wire Act Window For An Additional 60 Days (iDEA Growth mentioned in article)
    • The Department of Justice will extend its non-prosecution period related to the agency’s recently-revised Wire Act opinion for an additional 60 days, according to multiple sources in discussion with the DOJ.

Industry News:

  • Sports Handle, 2.28.19 – Political Football? Four Governors Want To Score On Sports Betting
    • Governors wield unique political power. While they can’t make laws, they can certainly veto potential laws, or try to force a bill through their state legislature. In the hopes of padding their treasuries, at least four governors have heartily endorsed sports betting this year, and two went so far as to include sports betting as a revenue line item in their budgets.

Pennsylvania:

  • Online Poker Report, 2.28.19 – Pennsylvania Online Gambling Still Months Away, Says Top Regulator
    • Poker players and gamblers in Pennsylvania will have to wait several more months for the chance to play online. On Wednesday, state officials delivered testimony to that effect during a budget hearing before the House Appropriations Committee.
  • Play Pennsylvania, 2.28.19 – PA Online Casinos Expected To Start Launching In July
    • Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) Executive Director Kevin O’Toole had some disappointing news for the PA House Appropriations Committee this week. In the hour-long hearing, O’Toole provided updates on several elements of gambling expansion, including when PA online casinos might launch. The news is not surprising but is nonetheless disheartening.
  • WHTM, 2.28.19 – Online gaming just months from launch, official says
    • Online gaming became legal in Pennsylvania more than a year ago, but no bets have been placed. That could change in a matter of months.
  • Play Pennsylvania, 2.28.19 – Parx Ceo Takes Aim At Online Gambling, Non-Pa Companies, And Mini-Casinos
    • There are plenty of people that are not big fans of online gambling expansion in Pennsylvania. One that may sound surprising is Parx CEO, Anthony Ricci. At a Thursday PA Gaming Control Board (PGCB) hearing regarding Parx Casino’s license renewal, Ricci sounded off to the board regarding just about every facet of the 2017 gambling bill.
  • Penn Bets, 2.28.19 – Parx Casino Hints At June Launch Of Pennsylvania Online Gambling
    • Pennsylvania’s top casino in terms of market share, Parx Casino, had a hearing Thursday in front of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) regarding its request for a five-year renewal of its casino license. It was a normal regulatory matter, but it featured a discussion about an atypical regulatory issue facing the state: the implementation of its 2017 online gambling law.

New Jersey:

  • USA Online Casino, 3.1.19 – New Jersey Smashes Online Gambling Record in January
    • The legal gaming market in New Jersey shows no signs of slowing down. The market has exceeded another record in monthly revenue. Figures released recently by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) indicate that the licensed gambling operators in the state generated $33.6M in January 2019.
  • Play NJ, 2.27.19 – DraftKings Rumored To Be Prepping A Standalone Online Casino App In NJ
    • This week, U.K.-based eGaming Review (EGR) published a report that DraftKings will soon be releasing an online casino app in New Jersey. The website said that DraftKings “is expected to launch a standalone casino app in the coming months.”

Tennessee:

Illinois:

  • Chicago Tribune, 2.28.19 – Bookies beware: Illinois gets ready to go all in on sports betting
    • Sports gambling, a multibillion-dollar industry that mostly relies on the black market, may soon go legit in Illinois. Backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and a host of gaming interests, Illinois is looking to join New Jersey, Pennsylvania and a growing number of states to legalize sports betting, turning the widely practiced but illicit activity into a bounteous source of tax revenue.
  • Louisville, Business Journal (subscription paywall), 2.28.19 – Churchill Downs closing in on $407M casino deal
    • Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said this week that the company will move quickly to close a major casino transaction if it gains Illinois Gaming Board approval.

North Carolina:

  • Legal Sports Report, 2.2.19 – NC Sports Betting Bill Appears At Tribe’s Request, Without Mobile Wagering
    • North Carolina sports betting might showing up late in the game, but the new bill’s sponsor expects it to reach the finish line. State Sen. Jim Davis tells Legal Sports Report that S 154, introduced Wednesday, should be passed by the Senate within the month. He doesn’t anticipate it being a challenge to get the legal sports betting bill signed into law by June.
  • WLOS, 2.28.19 – Bill would allow sports betting at Cherokee casinos
    • A mountain lawmaker wants to bring sports betting to the two Harrah’s Cherokee casinos in Western North Carolina.

West Virginia:

  • Legal Sports Report, 2.28.19 – Look Who’s Poking Around The Latest WV Sports Betting Discussion
    • Even with its industry up and running, West Virginia sports betting rules continue to attract attention — this time from the NFL. Sources tell Legal Sports Report that NFL lobbyists made their way to Charleston on Thursday for an upcoming House Judiciary committee hearing.

Connecticut:

Wyoming:

  • Casper Star Tribune, 2.28.19 – Wyoming legislature adjourns after negotiations stretch late into the night
    • In the closing days of the 2019 session, some expected the same type of fireworks in the Wyoming Legislature that were seen one year earlier, when a hard-fought battle over the state budget kept lawmakers in their seats for a dramatic conclusion in the final hours.

iDEA Growth Member News:

Overall Industry News:

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