Industry News of the Day for September 9, 2022

iDEA Growth Member News

• iGB, 9.9.22 – PointsBet launches retail sports betting in Maryland
  • Sports betting operator PointsBet has launched retail sportsbook operations in the US state Maryland. PointsBet processed its first retail bet in the state yesterday (8 September), having gained market access in Maryland in June last year through a partnership with Riverboat Group’s Riverboat on-the-Potomac venue. Johnny Aitken, PointsBet CEO, is quoted in this story.
• SBC Americas, 9.9.22 – Sportradar receives sports betting license in Kansas
  • Sportradar has expanded its North American presence by joining the sports betting party in Kansas, after it received a Sports Wagering Service Provider Provisional Certification.
• SBC Americas, 9.8.22 – Kambi acquiring Shape Games to help bolster front-end offering
  • Sports betting platform provider Kambi is stepping up its front end to match its back end with the acquisition of Shape Games. Kristian Nylen, Kambi CEO and co-founder, is quoted in this story.

Sports League News

• Sports Handle, 9.9.22 – NFL’s Decision To Shutter In-Stadium Sportsbooks On Game Days Is First Of Its Kind
  • NFL policy prohibits in-stadium sportsbook facilities from remaining open on game days. When the Commanders applied for a Maryland sports betting license last month, the franchise knew of the game-day stipulation but planned to move forward with the license application regardless of the policy, ESPN reported.
• SBC Americas, 9.8.22 – David Highhill: NFL will ‘remain thoughtful’ on relationship with sports betting
  • Since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, the NFL has become more ingrained in the world of sports betting as each season has passed. Many of the league’s teams have partnerships with operators, and some are even looking to open sportsbooks inside their stadiums.

Industry News

• ESPN, 9.9.22 – The rise of Gambling Twitter: Social media and the popularity of sports betting
  • The passionate online community known as Gambling Twitter has long been an intense battleground, full of bettors, bookmakers, con artists and trolls. People absolutely love it. And, now, with widespread legal betting spreading rapidly, Gambling Twitter is on the rise.
• SBC Americas, 9.8.22 – ESPN betting content team growing across the board
  • ESPN may not have plans for a branded sportsbook yet, but the worldwide leader in sports is expanding the scope of its sports betting content heading into the new NFL season. The expansion of gambling content is not just TV and extends to digital and radio as well.

California

• Play CA, 9.8.22 – A Voter’s Guide To The California Sports Betting Ballot Initiatives
  • Even the most apolitical gambler in the Golden State is likely to head to the voting booth this year. This November, there are not one, but two ballot initiatives that would legalize California sports betting.
• Play CA, 9.8.22 – Latest Ad Aims To ‘Get Real’ About Differences In CA Sports Betting Proposals
  • Supporters of an online sports gambling initiative are ratcheting up their campaign to highlight the differences between an alternative California sports betting proposal on November’s ballot.
• California Casinos, 9.8.22 – The National Horse Racing President Endorses Both Prop 26 & Prop 27 in CA. Why?
  • Prop 26 would legalize sports betting in California at 67 Indian casinos and Santa Anita Park, Del Mar Racetrack, Golden Gate Fields, and Los Alamitos Race Course.
• Play CA, 9.8.22 – Prop 27 Clause A Possible ‘Poison Pill’ For Sports Betting Tribal Revenue Share
  • Although proponents claim it never would happen, Proposition 27 contains a clause that could stop sports betting tribal revenue share. Prop 27 promises to share 15% of tax revenue with tribes that don’t participate in California sports betting. One provision in the online sports betting ballot measure, however, instructs that the money instead goes into the homelessness fund if a court finds the initiative’s waiver of sovereign immunity unenforceable.

Massachusetts

• Sports Handle, 9.8.22 – Massachusetts Sports Betting Launch Still Months Away
  • The Massachusetts Gaming Commission wasn’t ready to share a concrete timeline for the state’s sports betting launch at Thursday’s meeting, but members of the commission stressed that a launch is not imminent.
• Gaming Today, 9.9.22 – Massachusetts Approves First Sports Betting Regulation On Emergency Basis
  • Massachusetts sports betting officially became an emergency today as state gaming regulators used emergency rules to expedite the first of hundreds of regulations required under the commonwealth’s 2022 sports betting law.

Ohio

• Legal Sports Report, 9.8.22 – Will Ohio Sports Betting Applicants Missing Paperwork Launch Day 1?
  • A third of the companies applying to offer sports betting in Ohio have a new deadline to submit necessary paperwork or miss the Jan. 1, 2023 launch.