Industry News of the Day for March 10, 2020

Industry News:

• Legal Sports Report, 3.9.20 – The Week In Sports Betting News: Illinois, Michigan Make It A Third
  • There was absolutely no shortage of sports betting news last week with Friday being one of the busiest days of 2020.
• US Bets, 3.9.20 – US Sports Betting Was A Hot Topic Years Before It Spread Beyond Nevada, Panel Explains
  • Knowledgeable gaming industry insiders realized that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in mid-2017 to take up the New Jersey sports betting case — a 100-to-1 longshot, in gambling parlance — was a tipoff that the long-awaited market expansion was just a matter of time.

Overall Industry News:

• Online Poker Report, 3.9.20 – Partypoker Ready For Return To Glory Days Of US Online Poker
  • Roar Digital has pledged to relaunch partypoker as “national US poker brand” in a bid to restore its pre-UIGEA popularity.
• Legal Sports Report, 3.9.20 – BetMGM To Boost Yahoo Sports Cross-Sell With Shared Wallet
  • BetMGM is aiming to boost customer acquisition through its Yahoo Sports partnership by tying the products together more seamlessly.

Federal News:

• PlayNJ, 3.9.20 – NJ Files Brief In New Hampshire’s Wire Act Case, Calls DOJ’s 2018 Opinion ‘Flawed’
  • Since the Department of Justice issued its revised interpretation of the Wire Act in 2018, it has been busy trying to justify the action.
• Penn Bets, 3.9.20 – Pennsylvania’s One Billion Reasons It Wants Wire Act Ruling Overturned
  • Following in the footsteps of New Jersey — as it did with casinos, online gaming, and sports betting — Pennsylvania has joined in a legal bid to clarify that lotteries are not threatened by a Department of Justice declaration in January 2019 that The Federal Wire Act of 1961 extends beyond a prohibition on interstate sports betting.

Sports League News:

• ESPN, 3.10.20 – No Gambling Data For NCAA Tourney Broadcasts
  • For the first time, NCAA tournament games will be held in states with legal sports betting markets.
• The Wall Street Journal, 3.10.20 – The Brave New World Of Betting On Athletes’ Data
  • Minutes before the ball drops at an NBA game, you get a tip from a team insider that the star power forward is playing with a fractured wrist. Knowing this, you grab your phone and wager $1,000 that the injured player’s team loses.

Washington:

• SBC Americas, 3.9.20 – Washington’s ‘Tribal-Only’ Sports Betting Bill Continues To Fuel Debate
  • Washington Senate’s decision to legalize sports betting solely through established tribal gaming interests continues to generate debate and dissent among opponents who see the move as creating an ‘untaxed tribal monopoly’.
• Seattle PI, 3.9.20 – House, Senate Pass Bill Allowing Sports Betting In Washington State Tribal Casinos
  • The Washington House this past weekend passed legislation legalizing sports betting in Washington state’s tribal casinos.

California:

• Legal Sports Report, 3.9.20 – Tribes Well On Way To Putting California Sports Betting Initiative On Ballot
  • Indian tribes are more than halfway to qualifying an initiative to legalize California sports betting at the state’s tribal casinos and racetracks on the ballot in November.

New Jersey:

• PlayNJ, 3.10.20 – Could Freehold Raceway Add NJ Sports Betting By NFL Season?
  • Freehold Raceway is the lone remaining operational racetrack sitting on the NJ sports betting sidelines.

New Hampshire:

• Associated Press, 3.9.20 – 15 New Hampshire Towns To Vote On Sports Betting Locations
  • Voters in 15 New Hampshire towns are scheduled to vote during annual town meetings whether to permit the operation of sports betting retail locations in their communities.

Virginia:

• Online Poker Report, 3.9.20 – Virginia Online Lottery Bill Signed Into Law; Sports Betting And Casinos To Follow
  • Last week, Virginia became the seventh state to bring its lottery into the modern era.
• WTOP, 3.9.20 – Online Sports Betting, Decriminalized Pot Among Final Votes In VA Legislature
  • Virginia lawmakers took final votes Sunday to decriminalize marijuana possession, allow online sports betting and address discrimination.

Illinois:

• Gambling Compliance, 3.10.20 – First Sports Bets Placed In Uncertain Illinois Market (subscription paywall)
  • The first legal sports bets were placed in Illinois on Monday, but those wagers are only the latest milestone in what remains an uncertain market landscape in the Prairie State.
• Sports Handle, 3.9.20 – Rivers Casino Wins Race To Launch Sports Betting In Illinois
  • With a $100 bet on the Chicago White Sox to win the American League pennant at 16-1 odds, former Chicago Blackhawks forward and NBC Sports commentator Eddie Olcyzk officially ushered in legal sports betting in the state of Illinois on Monday at the Rivers Casino BetRivers Sportsbook in Des Plaines.
• US Bets, 3.10.20 – In Time For March Madness, Illinois Becomes 15^th State To Accept Legal Sports Bets
  • Illinois became the 15th state to accept wagers for legal sports betting Monday when BetRivers Sportsbook opened at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines just outside of Chicago.

Missouri:

• Courier Tribune, 3.9.20 – Missouri Lawmakers Hope To Legalize Sports Betting This Year
  • Missouri Gaming Association Executive Director Mike Winter said he was pleased to see the state moving to keep pace with neighboring states Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas when it comes to legalizing sports betting.

Iowa:

• iGB North America, 3.10.20 – Retail Losses Hit Iowa Sports Betting Market In February
  • Iowa has reported net receipts of $755,334 from its sports betting licensees in February, down 76.6% month-over-month, after losses in the retail channel offset marginal growth in online revenue.

Indiana:

• Inside Indiana Business, 3.9.20 – Indiana Lands Another Online Sportsbook
  • Another sportsbook operator is expanding its footprint to Indiana.

Kentucky:

• Bloomberg, 3.9.20 – Kentucky House Passes Budget With Vaping Tax, No Sports Betting
  • Higher taxes on vaping and tobacco products are the only new revenue anchoring the $23 billion-plus budget approved by the Kentucky House.

Georgia:

• Legal Sports Report, 3.9.20 – Initially Proposed Georgia Sports Betting Tax Rate Could Be Raised
  • The proposed Georgia sports betting tax rate might not even make it out of its first committee, according to one sponsor.

Oklahoma:

• Tulsa World, 3.10.20 – Tribal Gaming Fees Can’t Be Put In Escrow, Countering Gov. Stitt’s Proposal, Attorney General Says
  • Kevin Stitt cannot put funds received from tribal gaming into an escrow account while a federal lawsuit continues, according to an opinion released Monday by Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter.