Industry News of the Day for May 2, 2023

By iDEA | May 2, 2023

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: PointsBet In ‘Advanced’ Negotiations To Sell US Business
    • PointsBet is talking to multiple parties regarding the sale of part or all of its North American business, CEO Sam Swanell confirmed Thursday. The comments came on the company’s fiscal third-quarter conference call. Swanell could not divulge specifics about the ongoing calls though he did note certain negotiations “are well advanced.”
  • PlayUSA: NCPG Launches Toolkit, Analytics Dashboard To Align Messaging
    • The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has launched a pair of new resources meant to align responsible gambling messaging across multiple channels. The 1-800-GAMBLING Promotional Toolkit, and an analytics dashboard that tracks incoming traffic at the NCPG’s 29 call centers across the country.
  • SBC Americas: AGA’s Bill Miller on eradicating ‘a major threat to our industry’
    • Following the publication of the latest data set (at the time of writing), which demonstrated that the gaming industry significantly outpaced expectations through 2022, American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller spoke in depth regarding the fight against an illegal ecosystem that is said to be “firmly entrenched in the US”.
  • Associated Press: NFL, other leagues balancing betting revenue, game integrity
    • After many years of the NFL and other pro leagues staying as far away as they could from sports betting because they said it was necessary to protect the integrity of their games, they now have a much different challenge. The biggest professional sports leagues today have high revenue-producing partnerships with sports betting companies that they want to maintain — while still making sure a questionable charge call in the NBA or a dropped pass in the NFL doesn’t cause fans to wonder whether the games are on the level.

Colorado

  • Gambling News: Colorado Sports Betting in March Surpassed Super Bowl-Led February
    • The report published by the Colorado Department of Revenue revealed that the sports betting handle for March reached $494.4 million, registering an increase of 16.3% to $425.1 million in February and a decrease of 2.2% from $505.6 million in March 2022. Online wagers represent more than 99% of the total, $489.9 million, leaving the remaining just over $4.5 million to retail sportsbooks.

Illinois

  • PlayUSA: Illinois House Committee Debates Expansion Of In-State College Betting
    • Illinois lawmakers debated how to move forward with in-state college betting this week in a House committee. Currently, people in Illinois can bet on in-state college teams only in person at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. Rep. Jonathan Carroll proposed HB 4041 to extend betting on in-state college teams to online and mobile apps.

Massachusetts

  • PlayMA: Nearly $25 Million Spent Per Day At MA Online Sportsbooks In First Month
    • Sports fans wasted no time placing their bets in Massachusetts. After online sportsbooks opened for business on March 10, Massachusetts sports fans wagered more than $548 million using the six online sportsbook apps available in the state. That’s a total of $24.9 million wagered per day from March 10-31.

Michigan

  • PlayMichigan: Michigan Retail Casinos Remain Strong Alongside Booming Online Casino Market
    • Michigan is just one of six states with legal online casinos. Since launching in January of 2021, Michigan’s online casinos have generated more than $3.17 billion in operator revenue and more than $817 million in state tax revenue. However, states without iGaming are concerned that the online product will eventually cannibalize the retail casinos in their respective borders. If Michigan is any indication, that theory is just not true.

North Carolina

  • NC Sharp: Why Sportsbooks Need Regulators Instead Of Industry Norms
    • The Tar Heel State is inching closer to regulating online sports betting. If the state Senate approves House Bill 347, then Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to sign North Carolina online sports betting into law. After that, the North Carolina state lottery will regulate the state’s new non-tribal form of gambling. Those regulators will have to promulgate rules to govern online sportsbooks. After launching in over 30 other states, online sportsbook companies can operate competent businesses.

Ohio

  • PlayOhio: Ohio Sportsbooks Continue Momentum With $737 Million In March Handle
    • The Ohio sports betting market continued to show momentum in March, finishing with $737 million in handle and just over $95 million in revenue. In February, the market saw $639 million in bets and $82 million in revenue. The increase over February was expected due to higher betting volume during March Madness.

Vermont

  • Gaming Today: Vermont Sports Betting Bill Edges Closer to Senate Floor Vote
    • After passing a budget hurdle Friday, Vermont online sports betting legislation could finally be headed for a Senate floor vote.  H.127 had been held over in the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday amid questions about problem gambling funding in the sports betting bill. Today, the committee amended the bill to allow for recommendations for problem gambling funding in fiscal year (FY) 2025 and FY 2026, rather than budgeting specific amounts now.

Virginia

  • Sports Handle: Strong March For Virginia Books As Handle Tops $500M For Fifth Time In Six Months
    • Sportsbook operators in Virginia had a much more successful month of March than did the state’s college basketball teams. The University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University both got bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — the former in a true stunner of a finish vs. Furman. The state’s sportsbooks, on the other hand, did the bouncing vs. bettors.
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