Industry News of the Day for November 28, 2018

Nevada: 

• Legal Sports Report, 11.27.18 – Football Batters Nevada Sports Betting Revenue in October, but Handle Remains Strong
  • A strong month for football bettors slashed gridiron win by about $18 million last month. That led to Nevada’s overall hold coming down by nearly half, from a state-record $56 million to $29 million. Handle fell slightly from September, down from a best-ever $571 million to $528 million.
• iGaming Business, 11.28.18 – Nevada gambling sector hits new revenue high in October
  • Nevada posted its highest monthly gaming revenue of the past year in October, but sports betting revenue fell month-on-month as punters won more from wagering on American football.

Delaware:

• Delaware online, 11.27.18 – More states eye sports betting bandwagon, wrestle with regulatory details
  • Numerous U.S. states are considering jumping on the legal sports betting bandwagon, even as they struggle with the details of regulating it.

Rhode Island: 

• Play USA, 11.27.18 – Rhode Island Sports Betting has Launched, offered at Twin River Casino
  • The smallest state in the Union has joined a growing crowd. Rhode Island‘s Twin River Casino in Lincoln opened its doors for sports betting on Nov. 26. With the debut, Rhode Island became the eighth state to offer sports betting to its citizens.

Kentucky: 

• Legal Sports Report, 11.28.18 – Attorney General Wants to Fund Pensions with Kentucky Sports Betting Revenue
  • In a recent letter to state legislators, Attorney General Andy Beshear called for lawmakers to pass an expanded gambling bill that includes legal sports betting.

Missouri: 

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11.27.18 – Missouri lawmakers to take another crack at legalizing sport betting
  • Missouri lawmakers are poised to make another run at legalizing sports betting, putting the Show-Me state in line to reap some of the revenue other states are already collecting.

Louisiana:

• Louisiana Watchdog, 11.27.18 – Louisiana lawmakers expect to take another look at sports betting next year
  • Voters in 47 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes legalized online fantasy sports gaming with cash prizes in the Nov. 6 election. Next year, legislators and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board will be tasked with creating the regulatory framework, with hopes of being up and running by the fall.

Pennsylvania: 

• WHYY, 11.27.18 – Pa. will see multiple sports betting sites before year end
  • Pennsylvania is in the midst of launching its sports betting industry — becoming part of the first wave of states to do so.

Tennessee: 

• Newsweek, 11.28.18 – Tennessee State Representative Proposes Legalized Sports Betting Bill
  • A new proposed bill could legalize sports betting in the state of Tennessee. House Representative and Assistant Minority Leader Rick Staples (D-Knoxville) filed Bill HB0001, which is also known as the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act, earlier this month, according to WATE 6 ABC in Knoxville.

Federal updates: 

• No new federal updates to report.

 

Sports league updates: 

• Legal Sports Report, 11.27.18 – MLB Makes MGM Resorts ‘Official Gaming Partner” as Sports Betting Deals Proliferate
  • Make it three sports betting deals for MGM Resorts International and the major pro leagues in the US.
• Sports Handle, 11.27.18 – MGM Adds MLB to its List of ‘Official Partners’
  • Major League Baseball is following in the footsteps of the NBA and NHL, and on Tuesday announced a partnership with MGM, which now becomes baseball’s official gaming and entertainment partner. MGM already has similar deals with the NBA and NHL, and now will have access to official data and sponsorship rights from three of the four U.S. professional sports leagues.
• The New York Times, 11.27.18 – M.L.B., Once Averse to Gambling, Strikes a Deal with MGM Resorts
  • For generations, baseball’s leadership has viewed gambling as the sport’s boogeyman, a threat to the integrity of the game that must be stamped out. If the lifetime bans meted out after the Black Sox scandal in 1919 and to Pete Rose in 1989 were not reminders enough, then there are the warnings posted in every major league clubhouse.
• Legal Sports Report, 11.27.18 – MLB, NBA Rewarded with Sports Betting Royalty Fee Added to DC Bill
  • The efforts of US professional leagues to collect fees tied to sports betting seem to be taking another hard pivot. Lawmakers in the District of Columbia have amended an active sports betting bill, which Councilmember Jack Evans filed in September.
• ESPN, 11.28.18 – Sportsbooks will use real-time NBA data for in-game betting odds this season
  • Real-time, official NBA data will be used to generate in-game betting odds and then be distributed to licensed sportsbooks in the U.S. through multiple partners in a deal announced Wednesday — the first such arrangement for a major American sports league.
• Reuters, 11.27.18 – U.S. Major League Baseball partners with MGM Resorts for gaming
  • Major League Baseball on Tuesday announced it would partner with MGM Resorts International for league data use in gaming, promotion on MLB-owned media platforms and team sponsorships.

Member updates: 

• No new member updates to report.

 

Overall industry updates: 

• Legal Sports Report, 11.27.18 – US Stakeholders Create National Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association
  • US sports betting stakeholders are following through on their plan to create a national alliance. On Tuesday, executives from Caesars and MGM became founding members of the new Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association (SWIMA).
• Sports Handle, 11.27.18 – MGM, Caesars Among Founding Members of Sports Betting Integrity Monitoring Group
  • MGM and Caesars are among the members of a new not-for-profit that will monitor integrity in sports betting. The organization, the Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association, will bring together key gaming stakeholders, including state and tribal regulatory bodies, federal, state and tribal law enforcement, in an effort to uncover and prevent fraud and other illegal activities related to sports betting and sporting events.
• Reuters, 11.27.18 – First sports betting integrity group launched in United States
  • U.S. sportsbook operators on Tuesday announced the formation of a new national non-profit organization to help monitor integrity and fight fraud as the country’s new sports wagering market expands.
• iGaming Business, 11.28.2018 – US sports betting operators establish integrity body
  • Operators across the US have joined forces to form a new body dedicated to upholding integrity in the country’s expanding sports betting market.