Industry News of the Day for May 28, 2024
Industry News
- Legal Sports Report: NCAA Player Prop Sports Betting Ban Remains Complex Issue
- NCAA managing director of enforcement Mark Hicks is well aware that a nationwide ban on prop bets featuring student-athletes could lead to an increase in illicit sports betting activity. However, NCAA president Charlie Baker has been at the forefront of trying to eliminate those player prop sports betting markets to curtail harassment and student-athletes wagering on themselves. And, as Hicks noted, the NCAA would like to see the illegal offshore market eliminated as well. “It might happen. My guess is some people will (bet offshore). But the alternative for us is to do nothing,” Hicks told LSR at SBC Summit North America. “So we feel like we need a strong policy directed toward removing that target off student-athletes’ backs.”
- PlayUSA: US Online Casinos’ Blazing-Hot Start To 2024 Might Be Starting To Cool Off
- The pace of US online casino growth has generally been slowing down since 2021, but that trend dramatically reversed itself in February and March this year. With most regulators now having reported the revenue numbers for April 2024, we see a drop in the annual growth rate that may signal that this anomalous period of acceleration is at an end. April is traditionally the point at which the summer slump begins for iGaming and sports betting. However, the sharpest drops for online casinos usually come only later in the season.
Illinois
- SBC Americas: Illinois Senate Approves Progressive Sports Betting Tax Hike
- Illinois senators have approved a 2025 budget that includes raising the state’s sports betting tax and implementing a progressive tax rate for operators based on revenue. On May 26, the Illinois Senate passed a version of the budget that includes a progressive wagering tax increase that would levy a 40% rate on operators with the highest adjusted gross revenue. HB 4951 would nearly treble the tax rate for the most successful sportsbooks in the Prairie State. It would also make Illinois’ maximum tax rate the second-highest behind New York’s 51% rate.
Pennsylvania
- PlayPennsylvania: Betr CEO Confirms Sportsbook Coming Before NFL Season, Casino Soon After
- PlayPennsylvania reported in January that Betr was coming to Pennsylvania. Betr CEO Joey Levy recently confirmed this news, saying the company’s sportsbook is expected to launch in The Keystone State before the upcoming NFL season. “The new sports betting platform will offer a simpler and more intuitive product experience,” Levy said on Benzinga’s Sports Betting, Gaming & Esports: A Deep Dive virtual event. “By addressing common user frustrations, Betr aims to make sports betting more accessible and enjoyable for casual fans.” Upon its arrival, Betr will become the 14th PA online sportsbook.
Michigan
- PlayMichigan: Michigan Makes History With Official Launch Of WSOP Multi-State Poker Pools
- Online poker players in Michigan now have access to even bigger prizes thanks to WSOP’s launch of an interstate pool with New Jersey and Nevada. As previously reported by PlayMichigan WSOP was on track to merge with those two state before the end of the month. Now, the wait is finally over. On Saturday, WSOP and Caesars Entertainment announced the official launch of its consolidated online poker platform, WSOP Online.