Industry News of the Day for March 6, 2023
iDEA Growth Member News
- SBC Americas: FanDuel ‘Delighted’ As MLB Official Partnership Deal Struck
- FanDuel has put pen to paper to become a co-exclusive official sports betting partner of MLB as it seeks to solidify its brand amongst American sports fans. Signing a multi-year contract agreement, FanDuel and MLB will collaborate on a series of FanDuel products, with the operator able to showcase the sports league’s branding across FanDuel Sportsbook, Daily Fantasy and FanDuel Faceoff platforms.
- iGB North America: Kambi Scores Multi-Channel Sports Betting Deal With Wisconsin Tribal Operator
- Sports betting technology supplier Kambi Group has agreed a new multi-channel sportsbook partnership with tribal operator Potawatomi Casinos & Hotels in Wisconsin. Under the deal, Kambi will support Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee with the opening of the first land-based sportsbook in the state.
Industry News
- US Gaming Review: Flutter Says No Decision Yet on Future of FOX Bet Brand
- Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson said Thursday that the company had not yet decided what to do with FOX Bet but gave kudos to Fox Corporation, the joint venture (JV) partner it has been locked in a dispute with for nearly two years. Fox sued Flutter in April 2021 over how much it should have to pay for an 18.6% stake in FanDuel. Last November, an arbitrator in New York ruled that Fox could buy the stake for $20 billion.
Colorado
- PlayColorado: January Colorado Sports Betting Revenue Up Over December, Down From Jan. 2022
- Sports betting revenue for Colorado in January 2023 has been released by the Colorado Division of Gaming and numbers are up compared to December 2022. The total handle was $547.2 million in January, up 5.62% over December, which was $518 million. Year-on-year (YOY), this is a 4.62% decrease compared to January 2022. In that month, Colorado sports betting operators handled $573.7 million.
Kentucky
- PlayUSA: Bill Banning Kentucky Gray Machines Gets Priority Over Sports Betting
- Bills to legalize Kentucky sports betting and ban so-called “gray machines” both were introduced Feb. 22 at the bill filing deadline. Each received referral to the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee. But more than a week later, the committee has only addressed one of those two Kentucky gambling bills. That wasn’t the bill that addresses sports betting.
Massachusetts
- PlayMA: There’s One Last Hurdle For MA Online Sportsbooks To Launch March 10
- Massachusetts is set to launch online sports betting at 10 a.m. this Friday, March 10. We have to say “is set to” and not “will” because, technically, that launch date and time aren’t official yet. One more regulatory domino has to fall before that can happen: The sportsbooks must receive their operations certificates.
Michigan
- PlayMichigan: BetRivers Surge in Michigan Helps Rush Street Interactive To Strong Q4 Earnings
- Rush Street Interactive, the parent company of BetRivers, announced positive financial results from its fourth quarter of 2022 this week. During its Q4 earning call, RSI reported $166 million in revenue for the last three months of 2022. That was up 27% year-over-year. Along with a strong fourth quarter, RSI also had 21% year-over-year increase for 2022 cumulative revenue. The final revenue total was $592 million.
Minnesota
- KNSI Radio: Problem Gambling Group Seeks Inclusion In The Minnesota Sports Betting Bill
- The bill’s sponsor says Minnesota’s tribal nations would be granted licenses to create sports books at casinos, and people over 21 would be allowed to place bets through apps such as FanDuel and DraftKings on their phones. Revenue would be used for regulations and consumer protections; another 40% would go toward problem gambling. Susan Sheridan Tucker with the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling says that language is appreciated but asked if it could also include information sharing to help with research.
Nevada
- Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada Rep. Titus Taking A Swing At 46-Year-Old Tax Reporting Threshold For Slots
- Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., plans to take another swing at an archaic tax formula involving slot machine winnings by raising the reporting threshold. Whenever a slot player wins a jackpot of more than $1,200, the operator — a casino, tavern, restaurant or convenience store, or even airport personnel — are required to prepare a W-2G form that reports the amount of those winnings to the Internal Revenue Service.
New York
- US Bets: Is New York Governor Kathy Hochul Losing Interest In Gambling Expansion?
- Budget signals slowdown in casino location process as iCasino remains in limbo in Empire State. On his company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last month, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg shared that while he believes his group has the best proposal to build a New York City-area casino, the company isn’t going to sell out just to gain a foothold in the heart of the Big Apple.
Texas
- PlayTexas: San Antonio Spurs Owner Holt Endorses Texas Sports Betting Legislation
- San Antonio Spurs owner Peter J. Holt has endorsed sports betting legislation filed by Texas Sen. Lois Kolkhorst and state Rep. Jeff Leach. The measures, Senate Bill 715 and House Bill 1942, would legalize online sports betting in Texas. All Texas professional sports teams and organizations within the sports industry support the measures, as do many owners.