Industry News of the Day for May 13, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Legal Sports Report, 5.12.20 – How Do You Geofence Thousands Of Locations To Make Montana Sports Betting Work? (GeoComply)
  • Montana sports betting might not be ideally constructed, but the restraints of the market have necessitated some innovative technology.

Industry News:

• NJ Online Gambling, 5.12.20 – Pandemic May Lead States To Follow NJ’s Path By Adding Mobile Gaming
  • New Jersey has led the way in the U.S. with online casino gaming since 2013 and mobile sports betting since 2018.
• Legal Sports Report, 5.12.20 – Chernin Group-Backed Premier Lacrosse League To Roll Out Live Betting Feed From Genius Sports
  • Lacrosse is the latest entrant into the sports betting world thanks to a new deal with the Genius Sports Group.
• Gambling Compliance, 5.13.20 – Executives Say Race For Sports-Betting Share Mostly Unaffected By Coronavirus (subscription paywall)
  • Executives from several online betting operators said Tuesday that they believe the response to the coronavirus pandemic will have a minimal effect on the race to capture market share in U.S. sports betting.
• Penn Bets, 5.12.20 – Online Casino Play Is Getting A Boost, But It’s Hard To Count On That Continuing
  • Operators of iGaming sites that have acquired new players during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders don’t really count on such growth continuing.
• iGaming Business, 5.13.20 – Q&A: Mark Balch, Bayes Esports Solutions
  • The head of product and partnerships at Bayes Esports Solutions, the joint venture between Sportradar and Bayes Holding discusses the potential for growth in esports betting to be sustained after the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Sports League News:

• Associated Press, 5.13.20 – Arizona Governor Opens Door For Pro Sports Return In State
  • Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has opened the door for professional sports to return to the state.
• ESPN, 5.13.20 – NCAA Won’t Mandate Uniform Return To College Sports, Mark Emmert Says
  • The NCAA won’t mandate or oversee a uniform return to college sports, NCAA president Mark Emmert said Tuesday, leaving decisions on start dates to state officials and university presidents.

New Jersey:

• Gambling Compliance, 5.13.20 – Pressure Mounts On New Jersey Governor To Re-Open Casinos (subscription paywall)
  • As Atlantic City voters mailed in ballots on Tuesday to decide whether the mayor’s office should be abolished, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy faced growing pressure to re-open casinos by the end of the month on Memorial Day weekend.
• PlayNJ, 5.12.20 – Caesars Entertainment Shares Plan To Reopen Atlantic City Casinos
  • Caesars Atlantic City is looking forward to welcoming back its guests soon.

Pennsylvania:

• PlayPennsylvania, 5.12.20 – Wolf Slams Barn Door On Resuming Racing Before Phase Green
  • Tom Wolf shut the barn door on a request to resume horse racing without spectators and with safety protocols on Tuesday.

Washington, D.C.:

• PlayUSA, 5.12.20 – DC Sportsbook Handle 19 Moving Forward With 2020 Sports Betting Plans
  • The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the gambling industry across the world in many ways. Handle 19 sportsbook, which aims to be the first Class B operator for Washington, DC sports betting, is undeterred.

Michigan:

• Online Poker Report, 5.12.20 – Will Michigan Share Online Poker Liquidity With Other States?
  • Key lawmakers in Michigan are pushing for shared online poker liquidity, but proponents face staunch opposition from the state lottery.
• PlayMichigan, 5.12.20 – Closed Detroit Casinos Down 39.2% In 2020; Fantasy Contests Helped State
  • With no revenue to report for April, the Michigan Gaming Control Board released year-over-year numbers Tuesday for Detroit casinos in the first four months of 2020.
• PlayMichigan, 5.12.20 – Will Barstool Sportsbook App Be Ready When Michigan Goes Online?
  • The Barstool Sportsbook app is still due for a third-quarter launch, Penn National Gaming executives announced on the company’s quarterly earnings call.

Illinois:

• Sports Handle, 5.12.20 – It Could Be 2022 Before Online-Only Sportsbooks Come To Illinois
  • Legal sports betting in Illinois has gotten off to a rocky start. Retail sportsbooks went live in Illinois days before the professional sports leagues shut down amid the COVID-19 crisis, so even though sports betting is legal, it’s not happening.
• PlayIllinois, 5.12.20 – Get Your Kicks With Betting On European Soccer Leagues
  • European soccer leagues might be an ocean away, but when Illinois’ retail sportsbooks open their doors again, betting action on the biggest club matches in the world should be available.

Iowa:

• PlayIA, 5.13.20 – Iowa Casinos Hit Hard But There Is Light At The End Of The Tunnel
  • When it comes to gambling, the first thought that comes to mind is never that the house is going to end up on the losing end. Unfortunately for Iowa casinos and online sportsbooks, no one was ready for the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

Indiana:

• SBC Americas, 5.12.20 – April Turns Bad For Indiana Sportsbooks As All Retail Bets Are Off
  • Without one single retail bet in April, Indiana sportsbooks endured their worst month ever at an estimated cost to sportsbooks of $165m in bets, according to PlayIndiana.
• Cincinnati Business Courier, 5.12.20 – Indiana Sports Betting Takes Massive Hit In April (subscription paywall)
  • Sports betting has plummeted at southeastern Indiana’s casinos, cutting into the Hoosier State’s tax revenue. But there is still betting action to be had.

Tennessee:

• Finger Lake 1, 5.12.20 – Tennessee Ready To Begin Sports Gambling At An Unimaginable Cost
  • Tennessee is about to begin sports gambling after considering the merits and demerits of the sector for a very long time.

Louisiana:

• The Advocate, 5.12.20 – Louisiana Casino Reopening Delayed, Device Cap Questioned As End Of Shutdown Looms
  • A gaming task force wants an explanation of why Gov. John Bel Edwards is capping the number of slot machines and table game positions at casinos and video poker truck stops, along with limiting the number of customers — restrictions that could affect some casinos’ decisions on potentially reopening next week.

Colorado:

• PlayColorado, 5.12.20 – BetMonarch Becomes Fifth App To Join Colorado Sports Betting Field
  • The Monarch Casino and Resort in Black Hawk announced the official launch of its BetMonarch app on Monday, giving Colorado sports bettors a fifth mobile option to test their luck on.

Nevada:

• Gambling.Com, 5.12.20 – Analysis: Nevada Mobile Regulations Limit Sports Bettors
  • Drive-through mobile sportsbooks are popping up in Las Vegas like fast-food restaurants and William Hill says it is increasing the number to give mobile sports bettors more options as sports leagues and events start returning.

South Dakota:

• Capital Journal, 5.12.20 – Sports Betting To Be On Ballot
  • The South Dakota Attorney General’s office has released its official ballot explanation for the November 2020 general election.