Industry News of the Day for September 11, 2019

Federal News:

• Gambling Compliance, 9.11.19 – U.S. Senator Mitt Romney Confirms Alliance On Federal Sports Betting Bill [subscription paywall]
  • Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Tuesday confirmed he is working with Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer of New York on a sports gambling bill that would provide federal regulation of betting.
• ESPN, 9.10.19 – NCAA Pushing For Federal Sport Betting Legislation
  • The NCAA’s search for best approaches to the expanding legal sports betting market in the U.S. is focused on Washington, where two prominent senators are taking up the cause.

Industry News:

• PlayUSA, 9.10.19 – Fox Bet Kickoff Takes Sports Betting Into The Mainstream
  • When we look back at the first week of September 2019 it will surely be seen as the one where sports betting truly started going mainstream in the US.

Michigan:

• Sports Handle, 9.10.19 – Movement In Michigan: Sports Betting Gets First Hearing Of ‘19
  • Almost nine months after his sports betting package was shot down by then Governor Rick Snyder on the eve of 2019, Michigan Representative Brandt Iden got the first hearing of the year on sports betting Tuesday morning.
• Gambling Compliance, 9.11.19 – Michigan Sports Betting Bill Could Get Caught In Online Gaming Battle [subscription paywall]
  • The stalemate that has stalled online gaming legislation in Michigan could carry over into the debate over legalizing sports betting in the state, although the legislator who has introduced bills to permit both says he remains optimistic he can reach an accord with the state’s governor.
• Detroit Free Press, 9.10.19 – Michigan Sports Betting Could Be Legal By Super Bowl, Lawmaker Says
  • With 13 states and the District of Columbia having approved sports betting in their states since the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for expanded gambling across the nation last year, Michigan lawmakers are resurrecting a plan to add the state into the mix.
• The Detroit News, 9.10.19 – GOP Lawmaker Wants Sports Betting Rules By Super Bowl
  • A Republican lawmaker who’s been pushing for gambling expansion in Michigan hopes to have new rules governing sports betting in place by the Super Bowl.

New Jersey:

• NJ Tech Weekly, 9.10.19 – What Makes New Jersey’s Sports Betting Ecosystem A Model For Other States?
  • With the professional football season starting, officials from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) and New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement held a networking event in Newark to celebrate the successful establishment of the sports betting industry in the state.

Pennsylvania:

• PlayPennsylvania, 9.10.19 – Online Poker Is Still In Pennsylvania Hold’Em Pattern
  • There will be no online poker this week. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) confirmed that no testing is scheduled.
• PlayPennsylvania, 9.10.19 – Harrah’s Philadelphia Plans To Launch Caesars Betting App In PA This Month
  • Partners Scientific Games Corporation and Caesars Entertainment expect to launch a Pennsylvania online sportsbook in Pennsylvania later this month, according to a release.

West Virginia:

• PlayWV, 9.11.19 – Online Sportsbooks Energize West Virginia Sports Betting Market
  • It was a massive week for West Virginia sportsbooks. For the first time since February, the WV sports betting handle exceeded $4 million.
• The Herald-Dispatch, 9.11.19 – Sports Betting Apps See Modest Launch In West Virginia
  • Early revenue figures from the West Virginia Lottery Commission indicate a modest launch for sports wagering mobile apps in the state.

Indiana:

• Cincinnati Business Courier, 9.10.19 – Here’s What The First Weekend Of Sports Betting At Indiana Casinos Was Like
  • The first weekend of sports betting at Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg went off with a bang.

New York:

• Albany Times Union, 9.10.19 – State Takes Second Stab At Initiating Comprehensive Gambling Study
  • An ambitious review of New York’s gambling landscape will take longer than initially planned, as state officials restart their search for a firm to conduct the analysis.

North Carolina:

• Gambling Compliance, 9.10.29 – Lottery Commission Studies Sports Betting In North Carolina [subscription paywall]
  • Barely a month after approving sportsbooks at tribal casinos, another new law has authorized North Carolina’s lottery commission to study whether to allow legal sports betting state-wide.

Sports League News:

• Legal Sports Report, 9.11.19 – Making Sense Of Leagues’ Search For Sports Betting Data Fees: Case Study No. 8
  • The quest for official league data rights and fees has evolved since it first emerged in Indiana in January 2018. The early wave of requests for 1% integrity fees has died down, with the leagues now seeking 0.25% and/or official data mandates.

iDEA Growth Member News:

• EGR Global, 9.10.19 – Unibet Opens Online Sportsbook In New Jersey
  • Kindred Group’s flagship Unibet brand today launched its first US online sportsbook in the state of New Jersey.
• Gaming Intelligence, 9.11.19 – Unibet launches Kambi-powered online sportsbook in New Jersey
  • The launch of the Kambi-powered online sportsbook in New Jersey comes three months after the operator’s online casino debuted in the state through its partnership with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
• NJ Online Gambling, 9.10.19 – DraftKings’ NJ ‘Super Pool’ $1 MM Betting Contest Has Big Overlay Potential
  • Early in the first quarter of the brand new NFL regular season, DraftKings has announced a new $500-per-entry New Jersey-based handicapping contest called the “Super Pool” — easily the closest thing yet in a regulated market outside Nevada to the famed Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest.
• The Athletic, 9.11.19 – $1 Million Loss, Changing Odds: Spending A Game Day With PointsBet On NFL Opening Sunday [subscription paywall]
  • Sunday marked not only the NFL’s opening weekend, but also the league’s first season since the launch of full-scale sports gambling.