Industry News of the Day for March 11, 2024

By iDEA | March 11, 2024

Industry News

  • SBC Americas: Entain CEO Admits BetMGM Proved More Time-Consuming Than Expected
    • During this week’s earnings call,Entain interim CEO Stella David admitted that the efforts required of the company’s joint venture with MGM, BetMGM, might have had a negative impact on other aspects of the business. “Being fully transparent, it took us…some time to realize just how quickly we needed to feed BetMGM with better product, better customer experiences and better, more focused, U.S.-tailored products,” she said on the earnings call.
  • TheLines: Top 10 US Sports Betting States Per Capita
    • In 2023, the United States witnessed a significant evolution in the sports betting landscape. Various states showcased diverse levels of engagement and spending. An insightful analysis of the total sports betting “handle” in relation to the estimated population of each state unveils a fascinating narrative on the dollars bet per person, offering a unique lens through which to view the nation’s sports betting enthusiasm. The betting per capita leaderboard reveals a fascinating insight into the state of the industry. To craft a compelling narrative on the top 10 U.S. states by sports betting spending per capita in 2023, we’ll first need to understand the total amount wagered in sports betting, known as the “handle,” and then analyze this in relation to the population of each state.

Alabama

  • PlayUSA: Alabama Senate Approves Gambling Bills; They Now Head Back To House
    • On Mar. 6, the Alabama Senate advanced a two-bill gambling proposal to create a state lottery and allow electronic wagering machines at several dog tracks and other locations in the state. But they did it after making several changes to it. The first bill (HB 151), a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing gambling, passed in a vote of 22-11, from the required 21 votes. In a 23-10 vote, the Senate passed the companion bill (HB 152), which would establish the Gambling Proceeds Fund in the State Treasury to receive all net revenues of the lottery.

Florida

  • PlayFL: Daily Fantasy Sports Bill Fails To Pass Florida Legislature
    • It appears daily fantasy sports in Florida won’t be officially legal any time soon. Earlier this week, Senate Bill 1568 failed to advance to the Senate floor. The bill tried to explicitly legalize the industry by putting operators under the purview of the Florida Gaming Control Commission. With no discussion, reading or voting scheduled, the bill is essentially dead. The 2024 session ended today. What does that mean for daily fantasy sports in Florida moving forward? Florida daily fantasy sports exist in a legal “gray” area. Lawmakers have failed to officially legalize DFS, so the state continues to lose out on tax revenue from the industry. SB 1568 would have rectified that.

Minnesota

  • Gaming Today: Minnesota Lawmakers Change Stance on In-Game Betting
    • The Senate Commerce Committee has adopted an amendment to the Minnesota sports betting bill, presenting a significant setback for lobbyists advocating for the sportsbook industry and the state’s tribal governments. The proposed amendment, put forward by Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, aims to restrict big national sportsbooks from accepting in-game prop bets. These types of bets occur within a game, such as predicting which team will score first or how long a singer will take to perform the National Anthem at events like the Super Bowl.

New York

  • PlayNY: Sportsbooks Cap Football Season With $1.77B Month, Best February Yet
    • Online sports betting in New York finished the football season strong, as sportsbooks in the state combined for $1.77 billion in accepted bets during February, according to data from the New York State Gaming Commission. That total reflects a significant 20.8% spike from February 2023 and represents the highest NY sports betting handle in the month of February since the industry launched at the turn of 2022. In addition, sportsbooks in New York totaled $131.4 million in total gross gaming revenue, leading to just over$67 million in state tax revenue.
  • Bonus.com: Reports of the New York iGaming Bill’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
    • While New York legalizing online casino gambling in 2024 seems less and less likely, the bills designed to do so aren’t dead yet. On March 12, the New York State Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee will meet. Its chairman is state Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who introduced the iGaming and iLottery bill SB8185. Meanwhile, there’s no hearing scheduled for the companion bill in the Assembly, AB9198. However, that’s not stopping online gambling industry analysts and pundits from declaring the bills dead. They’re declaring SB8185 and AB9198 deceased because the iGaming and iLottery bills first weren’t included in January in Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul‘s executive budget.

North Carolina

  • Legal Sports Report: Online NC Sports Betting Completes 4-Year Journey To Launch
    • It took nearly more than four years with a few bumps in the road, but online NC sports betting is here.  Online NC sports betting operators began allowing users to register and deposit into accounts earlier this month in anticipation of the March 11 launch date. Gov. Roy Cooper signed online NC sports betting into law June 14, 2023, and while some markets have gone from signature to live in less than four months, North Carolina regulators took their time. But the journey to get to Cooper’s signature was an even longer saga.

 

  • WRAL-TV: Sports Betting Revenue A Game-Changer For Smaller North Carolina Collegiate Athletic Departments
    • The biggest winners from North Carolina’s legalization of mobile sports betting will be the operators that take bets. But the athletic departments at most UNC System universities will also be big beneficiaries of the new wagering law. Adult bettors in North Carolina can start placing legal wagers on Monday at noon. The legislation passed in June, creates a new revenue stream for 13 athletic departments across the state from the state’s cut of tax revenue paid by the operators.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and with budgets exceeding $100 million, are not included in the law.

Pennsylvania

  • PlayPennsylvania: PA Senator To Introduce Bill Prohibiting Credit Card Use For Online Gambling
    • Pennsylvania Senator Wayne Fontana is planning to initiate a bill that would ban the use of credit cards for online gambling. The accumulation of credit card debt because of online gambling can be dangerous, especially for those experiencing problem gambling behaviors. Operators in Pennsylvania, including PA online casinos, accept credit cards from bettors in order to deposit money into their accounts. There are three states that have already prohibited the use of credit cards as a means of gambling.
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