Industry News of the Day October 8, 2021

iDEA Growth Member News: 

• IGB, 10.8.21: Pointsbet Confirms Latest Canada Hire As Rivers Takes Marketing Role 
  • The Canadian division of online gambling operator PointsBet has appointed Dave Rivers as vice president of marketing. 
• SBC, 10.8.21: SBC Awards North America Shortlists Highlight Success Of US Industry (DraftKings, FanDuel, Sportradar, PointsBet, Global Payments, Sightline, White Hat Gaming mentioned in list) 
  • The inaugural SBC Awards North America will see betting and gaming’s biggest brands go head-to-head, with Bally’s Corporation, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel Group, Hard Rock Casino, and Penn National Gaming all featured on the shortlists announced today. 
• SBC, 10.7.21: Sportradar Partners With Big Ten Network To Relaunch B1G+ 
  • Sportradar, a provider of sports entertainment products and services, has partnered with the Big Ten Network to relaunch B1G+, a direct-to-consumer subscription service for non-televised events powered by the Big Ten Network. 
• Sports Handle, 10.8.21: Video: DraftKings’ Takeover Bid For Entain And What It Means For MGM, Unpacked 
  • As expected, DraftKings’ proposed $22 billion acquisition of Entain generated a considerable amount of chatter at this week’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. DraftKings’ power play of sorts could be viewed as a “defensive deal” to deprive MGM Resorts of Entain’s tech stack for BetMGM. 
• Online Poker Report, 10.8.21: With Some Obstacles Out Of The Way, Perhaps 2022 Is The Year For A FanDuel IPO 
  • Early this year, investors were getting excited at the prospect of Flutter spinning off FanDuel Group in an IPO. Several factors derailed those plans, but now just about everything is in place for next year. 

Overall Industry News: 

• SBC, 10.8.21: Sportshandle: That Was The Week That Was In US Sports Betting 
  • SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting. 
• Legal Sports Report, 10.7.21: Federal Memo Tackles Emerging Tribal Sports Betting Questions 
  • Amid multiple launches of tribal sports betting operations, federal regulators are taking on some new questions. 

Florida:  

• WINK News, 10.8.21: Sports Betting Set To Begin In Florida Oct. 15, Changing Gambling Landscape 
  • Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, but when we’re watching the NFL on CBS, we’ll be watching more than just the game. 

Pennsylvania: 

• SBC, 10.8.21: Pennsylvania Sees Growing Economic Benefits Thanks To Gaming 
  • The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has recently published its annual report for 2020/21, showing overall revenue from gaming hitting a record high as the state continued to recover from the impact of the pandemic. 
• IGB, 10.8.21: Pennsylvania Diversity Report Shows Increase In Female Employment 
  • A diversity report published by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has shown an increase in female employment at gaming venues across the state for the 2020/21 period. 

Connecticut: 

• NBC CT, 10.8.21: Soft Launch of Online Sports Betting, Gaming in CT to Begin Next Week 
  • The state has announced that a seven-day soft launch of online sports betting and gaming will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 12. 
• FOX 61, 10.7.21: Online Sports Betting On Standby In Connecticut 
  • Online sports betting in Connecticut was supposed to begin on Thursday, October 7th. However, sports fans will have to wait just a little longer. 

Maryland: 

• FOX 5, 10.7.21: Maryland Sports Betting Making Progress, But Sportsbooks Still Aren’t Up And Running 
  • If residents of the DMV wanted to gamble on Thursday Night Football, hopefully they spent some time in either D.C. or Virginia. 

Oregon:  

• IGB, 10.8.21: NFL Return Helps Boost Oregon’s September Betting Revenue 
  • Oregon’s Scoreboard sports betting app brought in revenue of $1.2m in September, up 18.4% compared to August but down 17.5% year-on-year. 

Iowa:  

• Play IO, 10.8.21: Iowa Sportsbooks Report Record-Breaking Handle For September, Surpass $1 Billion Mark For 2021 
  • A September surge shattered March Madness to set a single-month record for sports betting in Iowa. For the first time in state history, sports wagers exceeded the $200 million mark, according to numbers released Friday by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC). 

Illinois: 

• Play IL, 10.7.21: Save The Dates: Next Few Months For The Illinois Gaming Industry Could Be Bustling 
  • There is rarely a dull moment in the Illinois gaming industry. And, looking ahead at the 2021 calendar and into 2022, even busier days are ahead. 

Louisiana: 

• Play USA, 10.8.21: Louisiana Sports Betting Kicks Off At One Tribal Casino But Many More On The Way 
  • Louisiana sports betting has gone from a ballot initiative to reality within a year’s time. Although it’s currently restricted to in-person wagering at one tribal casino, that shouldn’t be the only option for Louisianans much longer. 

Tennessee: 

• Legal Sports Report, 10.7.21: Tennessee Sportsbooks Want Mandatory Hold Rule To End 
  • There was one central topic on the minds of Tennessee sportsbooks at Tuesday’s hearing on proposed rule changes: mandatory hold. 

Ohio:  

• Play OH, 10.7.21: Ohio Legislature Names Conferees To Finalize Sports Betting Legislation 
  • Ohio lawmakers took an important step toward sports betting legalization that could get a bill passed by Halloween.