Industry News of the Day for September 26, 2023

By iDEA | September 26, 2023

Industry News

  • SBC Americas: IGSC Forms Cybersecurity Committee In Wake Of MGM Casino Attack
    • While MGM continues to recover from the cyberattack earlier this month, the rest of the industry is taking steps to ready against potential future issues. The International Gaming Standards Committee (IGSA) announced this week that the group is proactively forming a Cyber Resiliency Committee to discuss how the industry can better prepare for attacks in the future. Aristocrat, Light & Wonder, and AXES.ai will help support the new organization.
  • Vice: Online Gambling Industry Is Using Big Tobacco’s Playbook, Health Experts Warn
    • Online gambling has become big business, gaining record numbers of users over the pandemic and becoming a common sight on Twitch. Now, an international group of public health experts have accused the gambling industry of employing the same tactics used for decades by Big Tobacco in an attempt to steer the public and academic debate to their advantage and weaken government oversight of the quickly burgeoning industry.

Florida

  • Gaming Today: Department of Interior: Florida Sports Betting Should Start, SCOTUS Appeal ‘Not Warranted’
    • The Department of the Interior called the request by West Flagler Associates to prevent the Seminole Tribe of Florida from re-launching sports betting in the state as it readied a Supreme Court appeal “not warranted,” in documents filed on Monday in the US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. DOI, which was sued by West Flagler and another Florida parimutuel outlet for allowing the Seminoles’ 30-year gambling compact to pass into law in 2021, was ordered by the court to respond by today to a stay request made on Sept. 15.

Kentucky

  • Lineups: 2.5 Percent Of Sports Betting Tax Revenue Slated To Help Address Addiction
    • As of September 7th, retail sports betting became the newest form of legalized gambling in Kentucky. Eager bettors will soon also be able to wager on sportsbook apps right from their phones following the launch of online sports betting on Sept. 28. With the introduction of Kentucky sportsbooks, however, comes the need for enhanced responsible gambling initiatives and problem gambling resources.

Maryland

  • US Bets: Maryland Ponders Pros And Cons Of Online Casino Legalization
    • Several prominent Maryland legislators and iGaming experts convened at Morgan State University’s Center for Data Analytics and Sports Gaming Research last week for a panel discussion about the future of gambling in Maryland. The overwhelming consensus: Legal online casinos are coming.  While the rehashing of previous sports betting legislation dominated a chunk of the panel discussion — retail sportsbooks launched in the state in December of 2021, while mobile sportsbooks went live in November of 2022 — the final 30 minutes of the conversation looked forward.

Michigan

  • PlayMichigan: Michigan Sportsbooks Spend Less On Promos: What That Means For Bonus Bets
    • The Michigan August sports betting numbers came out last week, and they revealed three continuing trends: Total handle remains down compared to 2022, sportsbooks are still exceeding their revenue from last year, and Michigan sportsbooks are posting fantastic hold numbers, and are spending less on promotional offers. That last fact is curious because the state still has 14 sportsbooks, which means competition is still fierce for customers.

North Carolina

  • NC Sharp: Preliminary Projection: North Carolina Could Bet $7 Billion Online In First Year
    • North Carolina could generate up to $7 billion in total bets in its first full year of online sports betting. That would result in $126 million in tax revenue to the state, according to NCSharp projections. A year like that would put North Carolina in the top five states nationally for betting. It would also set a benchmark for sports betting 30% higher than that projected by the state’s fiscal analysts who made their projection when preparing House Bill 347, the state’s online sports betting law.
  • North State Journal: OPINION: Half Measures On Gambling Won’t Work Well For North Carolina
    • North Carolina is entering a new era with the recent legalization of sports betting statewide, set to take effect on Jan. 8, 2024. Gov. Roy Cooper signed HB 347 over the summer at Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets, but already industry advocates and gamers are wondering if this was a half measure in need of a broader vision for leveraging the potential for gaming in the state.  Igaming, shorthand for online casino-style gaming, was left out of HB 347. 

West Virginia

  • PlayUSA: West Virginia Online Casinos Perform Slightly Better In August, Up 1.75%
    • After having a relatively successful June and not-so-solid July, West Virginia online casinos recorded the second-lowest revenue month since the beginning of the year. After seeing the state’s highest total of $14.3 million in March, WV online casino revenue has continued to decrease. Month-over-month, August revenue numbers were up nearly 1.75% from July. With college football returns and the NFL season, September will be a big pointer in seeing how long this decrease could last for WV online operators.
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