Industry News of the Day for October 28, 2021

iDEA Growth Member News: 

• MI Bets, 10.27.21: FanDuel Broadens Canadian Reach With Hire Of Former Deloitte, Rogers Exec Dale Hooper 
  • FanDuel continued to make inroads north of the U.S. border last week with the hire of Dale Hooper as general manager of its newly created Canada division. 
• Legal Sports Report, 10.27.21: Kambi Warns Penn On Dangers Of Building Tech From Scratch 
  • Penn National Gaming (PNG) faces a “tough task” in building its own sportsbook platform, according to Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén. 
• Business Insider, 10.27.21: Bleacher Report’s Sports-betting Boss Unpacks Media’s Relationship With Gambling As Sportsbooks Like Draftkings Move Into Content (subscription paywall) 
  • Media outlets from Sports Illustrated to ESPN have begun to wade into sports gambling. Insider spoke with Bleacher Report executive Raphael Poplock to discuss where it’s all headed. 

Overall Industry News: 

• Play USA, 10.27.21: PlayUSA Rewind: Which Two Illinois Cities Were Eliminated From Casino Contention? 
  • Welcome back to another exciting edition of the PlayUSA Rewind. Residents of Louisiana, you’re in for a treat. Plus, the age of sports betting at sea is upon us. 
• Sports Handle, 10.27.21: Sports Illustrated Was Very Nervous About Sports Betting In 1986 
  • In working on a separate story, I was compelled to Google “Who invented the point spread?” and I stumbled upon what amounts to a time capsule. 

Sports League News: 

• NASCAR, 10.27.21: Q&A: Nascar’s Sports Betting Czar Dishes On Plans To Make Betting More Accessible To Race Fans And More 
  • Since taking the wheel of NASCAR’s sports betting initiatives in March, Joe Solosky has overseen the expansion of one of the racing organization’s sportsbook sponsorships, helped bring another partner aboard, worked with broadcasters to integrate betting content, strived to educate fans, and guided the sport into states where sports betting is close to being legalized. 

Virginia: 

• Play VA, 10.27.21: Biggest Virginia Sportsbooks So Far: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM Dominate 
  • Through the first eight months of sports betting, the list of biggest Virginia sportsbooks contains some familiar names. 
• Legal Sports Report, 10.27.21: Six VA Sportsbooks Plan To Launch In Coming Months 
  • The Virginia sports betting market is about to expand significantly with six VA sportsbooks launching over the next few months. 

Nevada: 

• IGB, 10.27.21: Nevada Gaming Revenue Exceeds $1bn For Seventh Straight Month 
  • Nevada drew in $1.16bn in total gaming revenue during September 2021, marking the state’s seventh straight month exceeding the $1bn mark, while the state set a record for betting handle. 

Massachusetts: 

• WWLP, 10.27.21: Debate Around Sports Betting Still Causing Trouble At The State House 
  • The sports betting bill has stalled in the Ways and Means committee at the statehouse. Lawmakers in the House already passed a version of the bill and now they’re waiting on members of the Senate to do the same. 

Wyoming: 

• Legal Sports Report, 10.27.21: First Wyoming Sports Betting Report Sets Foundation For Growth 
  • Wyoming sports betting started with a sizzle in September, with stakeholders hopeful for an upward trend. 

Illinois: 

• Sports Handle, 10.27.21: Amendment To End In-Person Registration Winding Through Illinois Legislature 
  • An amendment filed in the Illinois General Assembly Wednesday would do away in March with the in-person registration required to access mobile sports betting apps if the bill is passed during this week’s veto session.