Industry News of the Day for September 8, 2020

iDEA Growth Power Lunch Summit

This week! GeoComply is partnering with iDEA Growth to present a series of three webinars covering important topics for the iGaming and online sports betting industry. The iDEA Growth Power Lunch Summit sessions run at noon Eastern Time on September 9th,10th and 11th, bringing together experts from across the industry to provide their insight and expertise on three important topics. Register Today!

 

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Legal Sports Report, 9.8.20 – Brace Yourself: Here Come The Sports Betting Ads As NFL Ramps Up
  • The number of FanDuel and DraftKings ads across the US has exploded in the second half of the year alongside the return of pro sports and the approaching NFL kickoff.
• iGB North America, 9.8.20 – Kindred Strikes IL, OH Market Access Deals With Penn National
  • Unibet operator Kindred has struck market access deals with regional casino operator Penn National Gaming to offer online betting and gaming in Illinois and Ohio.
• SBC Americas, 9.8.20 – Kindred Continues US Sports Betting Push With Penn In Illinois And Ohio
  • Online gaming operator Kindred Group continues to broaden its footprint in the US with the inking of a new agreement with Penn National Gaming this week.
• SBC Americas, 9.7.20 – Cousin Sal Signs Up FanDuel As Exclusive Sports Betting Partner
  • FanDuel Group has been designated as the exclusive Sports Betting, Casino and Horse Racing Partner of sports gambling aficionado Sal Iacono (Cousin Sal) and Mush Media.
• Gaming Intelligence, 9.8.20 – Sports Betting: Lessons Learned From The Pandemic
  • Sportradar’s managing director of Managed Trading Services (MTS) Paolo Personeni analyses the effect of the pandemic on sports betting operators.

Industry News:

• Sports Handle, 9.4.20 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: His Airness, Sportsbook At Wrigley, Connecticut Impasse, EPIC Expands, More
  • Here’s the weekend (or fashionably late) Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top U.S. sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
• iGB North America, 9.7.20 – 2020 Kentucky Derby Brings In $79.4M In Wagers
  • A total of $79.4m was bet on the 2020 Kentucky Derby, down 52.0% from 2019’s record handle, according to Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI).
• ESPN, 9.6.20 – Churchill Downs Cites No Fans, Fewer Horses For Kentucky Derby Betting Decline
  • Betting on the 146th Kentucky Derby was down sharply over the weekend, dropping 52% from last year’s record amount wagered.
• Forbes, 9.5.20 – With Kentucky Derby Bets, IRS Wins Too
  • Like everything else this year, the Kentucky Derby 2020 is different, not May but September, run in the evening (7:02 pm Eastern time), and run without fans in the stands.

Overall Industry News:

• Online Poker Report, 9.4.20 – Huge Settlements In Social Casino Lawsuits Lead To Changes In Gameplay
  • Three lawsuits in Washington state relating to social casino products have ended in settlements.

Sports League News:

• Associated Press, 9.4.20 – NFL Is Now Betting Big On Once-Taboo Gambling Industry
  • It wasn’t that long ago that the NFL nixed Tony Romo’s fantasy football convention at a Nevada casino because of the league’s strict policy against having anything to do with sports betting.

New York:

• Online Poker Report, 9.8.20 – Cuomo Gives NY Casinos Long-Awaited Green Light
  • Commercial casinos in New York will be able to reopen as of Tuesday, September 9.

Connecticut:

• Hartford Business Journal, 9.7.20 – As Pandemic Slams CT’s Economy, Sports Betting, Recreational Marijuana Could Gain Momentum In 2021
  • In just six months, the COVID-19-induced economic recession has pushed Connecticut’s unemployment rate up to nearly 15% as the state budget deficit is also projected to top $2.1 billion in the current fiscal year.

New Jersey:

• iGB North America, 9.8.20 – Scientific Games Extends With Resorts Digital In NJ
  • Scientific Games has signed a multi-year extension to its New Jersey-facing content supply deal with Resorts Digital.
• SBC Americas, 9.8.20 – Scientific Games Extends New Jersey Deal With Resorts Digital Gaming
  • Scientific Games Corporation (SG) and Resorts Digital Gaming have agreed an extension to their established igaming partnership that will see the former continue to provide authentic casino games in New Jersey.

West Virginia:

• iGB North America, 9.4.20 – William Hill Rolls Out Online And Mobile Sportsbook In WV
  • Bookmaker William Hill US has announced the launch of its online and mobile sportsbook in the state of West Virginia.
• PlayWV, 9.4.20 – William Hill West Virginia Launches Its Online Sportsbook Just In Time For Some NFL
  • The last few Septembers have not only brought the return of the NFL with legal online sports betting in West Virginia, but also the launch of new sportsbooks looking to take advantage of the betting frenzy.
• Gaming Intelligence, 9.8.30 – The Greenbrier Dominates West Virginia’s Sports Betting Market In August (subscription paywall)
  • West Virginia’s licensed sportsbook returned to growth in August as total wagers rose to $40.4m for the four-week period ended 29 August.

Tennessee:

• Gambling Compliance, 9.8.20 – Tennessee Payout Cap Enforcement Deferred Until 2021 (subscription paywall)
  • Despite plans to launch online betting next month, a controversial Tennessee regulation capping the amount operators can hold will not be enforced until 2021.

Michigan:

• MLive, 9.8.20 – With Michigan Casinos Operating At Limited Capacity, State Officials Look To Move Up Start Of Online Betting (subscription paywall)
  • Detroit’s casinos saw their revenue plummet after being forced to close for more than four months because of the coronavirus pandemic, but an expedited timeline to launch online gaming and sports betting could help offset some of those losses.
• iGB North America, 9.7.20 – Michigan Clears CDI For Advance-Deposit Wagering
  • The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has approved Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) to begin offering advance deposit wagering (ADW) on horse racing to players in the state.
• PlayMichigan, 9.4.20 – TwinSpires Live In MI Just Under The KY Derby Wire
  • It went down to the wire, but TwinSpires will be able to take legal, regulated bets in Michigan on Saturday for horse racing’s signature race.
• PlayMichigan, 9.4.20 – Tribal Casinos Are Open, But The Coronavirus Problems Aren’t A Closed Case
  • The reopening of Michigan tribal casinos did not necessarily mean they were out of the woods.

Kansas:

• Kansas Reflector, 9.6.20 – Feuding Over Who Controls Profits From Sports Betting In Kansas Stalls Legislation
  • Kansas City Chiefs fan Rob Olson raised his voice during a Kansas Senate debate to let colleagues know how frustrated he was with inability of politicians, lobbyists and gambling executives to hammer out deal that would have allowed him to legally place a bet on the 2020 Super Bowl.

Colorado:

• SBC Americas, 9.7.20 – Works Powers TheScore Bet As It Makes Its Colorado Debut
  • US sports betting and igaming supplier Bet.Works has utilized its sportsbook platform technology to power the Colorado launch of theScore Bet, the mobile sportsbook operated by Score Media and Gaming Inc.
• The Gazette, 9.6.20 – Sports Gambling Amps Up, Will Eventually Benefit State Water Plan (subscription paywall)
  • If you’ve watched TV in Colorado lately, chances are you’ve been bombarded with commercials for various sports betting platforms. Now, as you surf the internet, you might also see ads connecting the state’s newly legalized sports betting industry with funding for Colorado water projects.

Montana:

• The Billings Gazette, 9.4.20 – Does Gambling Pay? The Launch Of Sports Betting In Montana
  • In this episode, we focus on the initial launch of sports betting in Montana, take a look at how our sports betting law shapes up nationally and discus some of the user critiques of Sports Bet Montana.