Industry News of the Day for May 26, 2020

iDEA Growth in the News:

• Gambling.Com, 5.25.20 – Publicly Traded Companies Are Snapshot Into Gaming’s Future (J. Ifrah mentioned as iDEA Growth founder)
  • The business lesson of the last two decades has been digital is better, or at least often more profitable.

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Sports Handle, 5.22.20 – Drones, Livestreams, Clean Subways: What Future Of Sports Betting May Look Like (DraftKings)
  • The old saying is that necessity is the mother of invention. When it comes to sports and legal sports betting in our current climate, that cliche couldn’t be more applicable.
• Online Poker Report, 5.26.20 – PokerStars Postpones PSPC Until 2021, Compensates With Additional Platinum Passes
  • Last week, PokerStars postponed the much-anticipated second run of its PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC).

Industry News:

• Gambling Compliance, 5.26.20 – US Sports Betting Set For ‘Super Tuesday’ Of Ballot-Box Battles (subscription paywall)
  • At least three states are set to hold a referendum on sports betting this November, offering a preview of future ballot box battles that will need to be fought to prize open some of the largest U.S. markets.
• Gambling Compliance, 5.26.20 – Virus Crisis To Accelerate Channel Shift, Foster M&A (subscription paywall)
  • The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic downturn will have a profound effect on the pace of channel shift between land-based gaming and online and will drive the next round of sector consolidation, the market’s leading analysts agree.
• NBC Sports, 5.23.20 – States Could Flock To Legalized Sports Betting, Post-Pandemic
  • The coronavirus outbreak has devastated the economy and, in turn, busted state budgets, primarily via reduced tax revenues.
• WSN, 5.25.20 – USA Sports Betting Handle Crashes From $1B To $130M
  • Since widespread shutdowns that began in mid-March, American sports betting revenue is down almost 90% from February.

New Jersey:

• Associated Press, 5.22.20 – Virus Closures Send Atlantic City Casino Profits Down 65%
  • Atlantic City’s casinos saw their gross operating profits fall by more than 65% in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released Friday.
• PlayNJ, 5.22.20 – Safety Plan In The Works For Tropicana Atlantic City’s Reopening
  • Anyone hoping to spend Memorial Day weekend at Tropicana Atlantic City will have to wait until the next Memorial Day in 2021.

Connecticut:

• The Day, 5.23.20 – Why Not Online Gambling For Connecticut’s Tribes? Drive-In Casinos?
  • Playing a slot machine on your phone in a parked car on the reservation should be no different than playing one on the casino gaming floor, what is already legal. Drive-in movies are popular again. How about a drive-in casino?

New York:

• Elite Sports NY, 5.25.20 – Legalizing NY Online Sports Betting Is The Safe Choice
  • Legalizing NY online sports betting would be a step towards protecting New Yorkers and cutting down on the use of illegal offshore books.
• The Center Square, 5.23.20 – Some New York Lawmakers Pitching Tax Hikes; Cuomo, Policy Leader Say That’s A Bad Idea
  • State Sen. Joe Addabbo, D-Queens, reiterated his call to allow mobile sports betting in the state.

Washington, D.C.:

• Gambling.Com, 5.22.20 – DC Lottery Says Sports Betting Will Launch By End Of May
  • The Washington, D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming said Friday that its sports betting platform — GambetDC — will be live by the end of May.

West Virginia:

• PlayWV, 5.22.20 – AGA To Media: Stop ‘Blurring The Lines’ Between Legal And Offshore Betting
  • Just because West Virginia sports betting is regulated, doesn’t mean offshore gambling has stopped.

Michigan:

• Gambling.Com, 5.26.20 – Gambling.Com Honors Iden With American Gambling Award
  • Michigan State Rep. Brandt Iden has received an honorary American Gambling Award for his extraordinary efforts in advancing and promoting gambling legislation throughout the state in 2019.
• PlayMichigan, 5.22.20 – Inside A Michigan Casino On The First Day Of Reopening
  • More than two months since the last legal bet was placed in a Lower Peninsula casino, over 100 people lined up outside of Odawa Casino Mackinaw for its 10 a.m. opening on Friday.

Illinois:

• Gambling Compliance, 5.26.20 – Illinois Legislature Clears Path For Chicago Casinos (subscription paywall)
  • Illinois legislators have paved the way for a long-awaited Chicago mega-casino by passing legislation that modifies the tax structure of the casino license to entice potential operators.
• Chicago Sun-Times, 5.24.20 – Legislature Comes Through With Much-Needed Votes After Rocky Start To Session
  • The Illinois House and Senate fixed legislation that had been holding up the development of a Chicago casino.

Iowa:

• PlayIA, 5.24.20 – Will College Football Take Place In The State Of Iowa In 2020?
  • When lockdowns began and sports were suspended in March due to COVID-19, it felt like it was impossible that college football could be impacted nearly six months later.

Louisiana:

• Gambling.Com, 5.22.20 – Louisiana House Approves Sports Betting Ballot Legislation
  • The Louisiana House of Representatives on Friday voted 73-23 to approve legislation to put the question to legalize sports wagering before voters in the state’s 64 parishes.

Colorado:

• PlayColorado, 5.22.20 – What Is The Future Of Sports Betting In Colorado?
  • What will sports betting look like in the future? At least for Colorado and most of the country, we have a pretty good indication.
• EGR Global, 5.22.20 – Fighting Chance: Why Colorado Is Primed To Become A Major Sports Betting Battleground (subscription paywall)
  • On Friday May 1, almost two years after the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA, Colorado became the 18th state to take legal sports wagers. However, the usual fanfare surrounding a sports betting launch was inevitably muted due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing the closure of the state’s casinos.

Oklahoma:

• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5.25.20 – Cherokee Nation Readies To Open Casinos
  • Some Oklahoma tribal casinos have opened, while others have announced dates to unlock their doors, closed in March because of covid-19.