Industry News of the Day for October 11, 2019

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Online Poker Report, 10.11.19 – PokerStars Awarding Platinum Passes For 2020 PSPC; Online Paths In US Under Construction
  • PokerStars announced at the end of August that the PokerStars Poker Players Championship (PSPC) is returning in 2020.
• Sports Handle, 10.10.19 – Flutter Entertainment’s Acquistion Of The Stars Group Could Place Gambling Markets On Path Toward More Consolidation
  • Last week, Flutter Entertainment — the parent company of Paddy Power Betfair, Sportsbet and FanDuel — announced its intent to purchase The Stars Group, which owns poker websites PokerStars and Full Tilt, along with the sports betting website BetStars and a joint venture with FOX Sports.
• SBC News, 10.11.19 – Optima Acquisition Sees Sportradar Offer Full Betting Solution
  • Sports data and content supplier Sportradar has confirmed the acquisition of the award-winning sports betting and gaming omnichannel platform business Optima, with the deal effective immediately.

Industry News:

• The Action Network, 10.10.19 – Poll: 80% Of Americans Now In Favor Of Sports Betting Legalization
  • In February 2017, results of a Seton Hall Sports Poll revealed that only 46% of Americans believed betting on sports should be legalized. Some 32 months later, the latest version of the poll published Thursday reveals that 80% are in favor of sports betting legalization.

New Jersey:

• NJ Online Gambling, 10.10.19 – New Jersey Horsemen Versus NFL Legal Saga Getting Metaphysical
  • If a 26-year-old federal law is vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court, did it ever exist at all?
• NBC New York, 10.10.19 – I-Team: Where Do New Jersey’s Gambling Tax Dollars Actually Go?
  • With sports and online betting now legalized, anyone with a smartphone in New Jersey has a casino in his or her pocket. An I-Team review of state budget records shows New Jersey spends most of its gambling revenue on group homes for the developmentally disabled.

Pennsylvania:

• Play Pennsylvania, 10.10.19 – Designers Rethinking What A Pennsylvania Retail Sportsbook Should Be
  • As trends in gambling go, the reimagining of old-school sportsbooks as sports lounges has major momentum

Indiana:

• Sports Illustrated, 10.10.19 – Why Perdue Faces Major Obstacles Legally, Logistically In Sports Betting Ban
  • Indiana is one of 13 states to have legalized sports betting. But that doesn’t mean everyone in Indiana can bet on any game.
• Lafayette Jounral & Courier, 10.10.19 – Purdue Bans Campus Bets On Boilermaker Sports, As Legalized Gambling Takes Hold
  • Purdue’s new policy, one of the first of its kind, bans students, staff, faculty and contractors from betting on Boilermaker teams in an effort to protect integrity of campus and student-athletes.
• Legal Sports Report, 10.10.19 – Chicago Influx Drives Stout First Month For Indiana Sports Betting Revenue
  • Quite a bit of sports betting money blew right out of the Windy City and into Indiana in September.
• Associated Press, 10.10.19 – 1^st Month Of Indiana Sports Betting Draws $24,5M In Wagers
  • The Indiana Gaming Commission says the opening month of sports betting at Indiana casinos attracted $34.5 million in wagers.

Illinois:

• Chicago Sun-Times, 10.10.19 – While Illinois Sports Betting Stalls, Indiana Reaps $813K In One Month Of Tax Revenue – Money ‘We’re Not Getting’
  • Sports gamblers bet more than $35 million in Indiana casinos in September, but Illinois regulators have yet to set a timeline for an industry launch here.

Colorado:

• CPR, 10.11.19 – With Prop DD, Casinos And Conservationists Are Betting On Voters
  • When state Rep. Alec Garnett heard the U.S. Supreme Court would allow states to start sports gambling he didn’t waste a moment. Colorado’s Democratic House Majority Leader immediately called ‘dibs.’
• The Center Square, 10.10.19 – Conservative Think Tank Opposes Tax Refund, Sports Betting Ballot Measures
  • The Centennial Institute, a conservative think tank in Lakewood, Colo., said it strongly opposes both tax-related measures that Colorado voters will decide on in November.

Michigan:

• WXYZ, 10.11.19 – Michigan State Rep Working To Legalize Sports Betting By End Of This Year
  • Sports betting is currently illegal in the state of Michigan, but one state representative hopes it will be legal before the end of this year.

Massachusetts:

• Boston 25 News, 10.11.19 – No Clear Odds On Legal Sports Betting In Massachusetts
  • It’s been a year and a half since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave states the ability to allow sports betting programs and so far about a dozen states have adopted programs, but Massachusetts is not one of them.

Oregon:

• KVAL, 10.10.19 – Oregon Lottery Set To Release Sports Betting App, ‘Scoreboard’
  • The Oregon Lottery is getting ready to release its sports betting app and hopes to bring in more revenue to the state.

Arkansas:

• Gambling Compliance, 10.11.19 – Lawmaker Requests Pause On Arkansas Casino Decision
  • A state representative is asking the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) to delay awarding the state’s final casino license in Pope County until all lawsuits and investigations are completed, saying that granting the license now could be “tainted by corrupt activities.”

Missouri:

• Louis Post-Dispatch, 10.11.19 – Missouri Gaming Operator Ducks House Hearing On Illegal Gambling
  • After saying he would welcome the chance to talk to lawmakers, one of the men responsible for the spread of illegal gambling machines across Missouri was a no-show Thursday at a special House committee hearing.
• Missouri Net, 10.11.19 – Illegal Gambling Complaints In Missouri Have Almost Quadrupled In One Year
  • The Missouri State Highway Patrol testified Thursday in Jefferson City that the number of complaints it’s received about illegal gambling has increased from 39 in 2018 to 145 so far this year.

Sports League News:

• ESPN, 10.11.19 – UFC To Launch Real-Time Data Product For Sportsbooks
  • The leading mixed martial arts promoter is launching UFC Event Centre in partnership with IMG Arena, the first in-game wagering product from the UFC, UFC president Dana White announced Thursday night.
• The Wall Street Journal, 10.10.19 – Big Data Is Coming To The National Hockey League
  • This season, the league is debuting a puck and player tracking system that promises to unleash a tsunami of data about player speed and execution. The biggest upside may come from a market that is not yet legal nationwide: sports betting.
• Sport Business, 10.10.19 – Indianapolis Colts Announce Fantasy Sports Partnership With FanDuel
  • The National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts are partnering with daily fantasy sports company FanDuel for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.