March 2024

March 29, 2024

State of the Union: A look back at the week that was in North America

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

NJ senator proposes online gaming tax hike

New Jersey Senator John McKeon has filed a bill that would increase the tax on online casino and digital sports betting platforms to 30%. Online casinos currently pay a 15% state tax, while sports betting platforms pay 13% of gross gaming revenue. The bill is one line and does not include an effective date or argument for the proposed change.

New Jersey law requires that online casinos and sportsbooks be tethered to brick-and-mortar locations, including casinos and horse racetracks. There are currently 30 online casinos and 18 digital sportsbooks.

In general, sportsbook operators are most comfortable with a tax rate of 10% or less. A 30% tax on sports betting would move New Jersey from one of the most favourable places to do business to one of the least.

Of the nearly 40 US j..

March 29, 2024

Georgia lawmakers fail (again) to legalise sports betting

Georgia's General Assembly went to the brink on Thursday night (28 March) and still it didn't legalise sports betting.

In fact, the package of bills that got through the senate in less than three weeks never even got in front of the full house for consideration.

Two amended legal sports betting bills – a constitutional amendment and enabling legislation – got out of the House Higher Education Committee early Thursday morning, although sources say the committee had the votes to move the package the previous night. That left about 15 hours to negotiate a deal before the session ended, but the Rules Committee – which met at least three times on Thursday – declined to consider the bills.

This was the fourth consecutive session during which Georgia lawmakers could not come to a consensus and the second time legal wagering became a political football.

In 2021, state Democrats pulled their support after Republicans passed a controversial voting rights bill. This year, the Repu..

March 28, 2024

PGAM 2024: How is the industry raising RG standards?

This year’s US Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) comes amid the first concerted backlash against gaming expansion, so how has that changed the way operators are leveraging the initiative? iGB speaks to executives from DraftKings, Betr and OpenBet to find out what these companies are doing to raise standards.

Following the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, gambling fever has swept large sections of the US, with 40 jurisdictions since taking up the option to offer legal wagering.

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) launched PGAM in 2003 with the aim of raising awareness on the issue. Since its inception, and particularly post-PASPA, the event has marked an important month in the calendar in the fight for responsible gambling (RG).

Chrissy Thurmond, head of RG relations at DraftKings, hails the influence of PGAM in helping the gambling industry to combat irresponsible play.

“One of the things that has been really benefic..

March 28, 2024

The evolution of Las Vegas

Vegas has moved on from the days when slots were king and has become an all-round entertainment destination. But how on earth did this happen? Jon Bruford talks to Nevada Resort Association president and CEO Virginia Valentine about the city’s evolution from gambling mecca to so much more.

Las Vegas’ history has been documented in countless books and movies. We all know the city’s origins, the rise of organised crime and much more. But the most recent chapter in the city’s story is one that would not have been predicted even ten years ago: the arrival of professional sports teams.

It wasn’t long ago that an integrated resort’s major revenue earner would have been slots. Recent years have seen ticket-in ticket-out (TITO) replace coins on the gaming floor, the rise of the celebrity chef, big-name DJs with nightclub residencies, megastar singers at most Strip properties and much, much more.

Las Vegas’ diversification meant it appealed to a wider audience

The income has diversified and..

March 28, 2024

Fanatics replaces PointsBet in Kansas

Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) has announced the launch of its Fanatics sportsbook in Kansas, replacing PointsBet with immediate effect.

Players in Kansas can now download the Fanatics sportsbook and begin placing sports bets.

Existing PointsBet customers will have their information automatically migrated to the new Fanatics sportsbook. This includes their username, password, account balance, rewards points and any responsible gaming settings.

The Kansas launch means Fanatics now has a sports betting presence in 17 states across the US. It follows the roll-out in North Carolina earlier this month when the state officially launched its legal sports betting market.

Other recent launches for Fanatics include New York, where it also replaced the PointsBet brand. FBG acquired PointsBet US in August 2023 and has been phasing out the PointsBet brand ever since, with Indiana another state where Fanatics took the place of PointsBet.

This month, FBG also picked up an event wagering lice..

March 28, 2024

IGA executive director confident of California sports betting with tribal help

Jason Giles, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), believes there could yet be online sports betting in California, although he also believes the help of tribes is vital to any legalisation.

Another attempt to legalise sports betting in California failed in January after two ballots aiming to grant tribes exclusive rights were scrapped following fierce tribal opposition in the state.

Eagle1 Acquisitions Corp, the group of backers for a proposition to legalise sports betting in California, had made several amendments to its ballot initiative in December in a bid to gain increased tribal support, however the efforts ultimately failed.

In response, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) stated the failure should serve as a warning against future attempts to legalise sports betting in the state without tribal involvement.

Jason Giles, Executive director of the indian gaming association, sees operator engagement with the tribes as a positive

Howev..

March 28, 2024

Georgia committee passes wagering bill with most generous RG cutout in US

Georgia's House Higher Education Committee passed a package of sports betting bills that ultimately could send at least $22.5m per year to problem and responsible gambling programmes should the state legalise mobile wagering later today.

Today (28 March) Georgia’s General Assembly is set to adjourn by 11.59pm EST. The Higher Education Committee passed amended versions of SR 579 and SB 386, and the Rules Committee put the package on its agenda less than 30 minutes later, but has not yet sent it to the house floor.

Should the house pass the package, it would have to go back to the senate for concurrence or to a conference committee because the bills were amended.

The issue has been sitting in the Higher Education Committee for more than a month as lawmakers rallied support and massaged the bills to find a consensus. As recently as Wednesday (27 March) the proposals were laid over due to lack of support. It was not clear until the vote was called Thursday morning that there was..

March 28, 2024

Slovaks place €21.4bn in bets over 2023 as online market surges

Slovaks placed €21.4bn (£18.3bn/$23.1bn) in bets during 2023, revealed during a press conference held at the office of the country’s Regulation of Gambling Games.

Martin Bohoš, director general of the regulator, stated players in Slovakia were paid €20.4bn in winnings. Contributions to the state rose by over €50m year-on-year to more than €301m.

In state contributions, the online levy accounted for €93m of the total, while fixed-odds bets were responsible for €80.48m. Land-based casinos, meanwhile, contributed €61.9m to the state.

The online market continues to dominate, with 90% of Slovaks preferring to bet online. For number lotteries, however, online betting accounts for just 14% of bets with Slovaks still preferring to play the lottery at land-based venues.

The tax rate for fixed-odds betting in Slovakia is 22% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) for online operators and 6% of turnover for land-based companies. For casino, meanwhile, the rate is again 22% for online operators. For la..

March 28, 2024

GST leaves India out of its depth

The decision to impose a 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on turnover in India delivered a blow to a burgeoning, exciting gaming market overnight. But with so much industry pushback, and attempts to stay GST-related court orders, can India turn back the tide on GST?

Dust off your time machine and travel back to 1867, when India’s Public Gaming Act was enacted.

This piece of legislation regulated some forms of gambling with extremely strict parameters. It legalised lotteries and horse racing but banned the operation of public gaming houses. At the time, anyone caught running a public gaming house faced a fine of ₹200.

Obviously, the original legislation couldn’t have taken online gaming into account. This left the practice in a state of uncertainty, despite a ready-and-waiting base of gambling and sports fans.

In more recent years, attempts have been made to legalise both online gambling and sports betting. In 2016, the Supreme Court backed calls for legalised betting, referring to..

March 27, 2024

Georgia house committee sets up 11th-hour sports betting sprint

If the Georgia general assembly is to become the first in 2024 to legalise sports betting, it will have 15 hours, 59 minutes to do so, beginning at 8am EST Thursday (28 March).

The House Higher Education Committee today (27 March) failed to vote on a package of bills that would legalise statewide mobile sports betting. The hitch, once again, is how to spend the funds the state will get from the new revenue stream.

The session is scheduled to end Thursday night. The committee will meet two hours before the full house meets at 10am local time. No matter how you slice it, Thursday sets up a sports betting sprint.

The decision not to vote Wednesday was the second this week, after the Higher Education Committee laid the bill over Monday (25 March). So far, the committee has had three hearings, dating back to 19 March, and at least one cancelled meeting.

Senate sponsor Bill Cowsert is set to introduce an amendment that will appropriate 15% of tax revenue for problem and responsible gamb..

March 27, 2024

NCAA seeks college prop bets ban

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) president Charlie Baker says the organisation is moving to ban college prop bets from all US markets.

In a statement today (27 March), Baker said that the decision came after there were reports of athletes being harassed in relation to college prop bets.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” said Baker.

BAKER SAID THE NCAA WOULD REQUEST OTHER STATES TO BAN PLAYER PROP BETS

He added that some states contacted by the NCAA in reference to the threats outright banned college prop bets. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”

One of these states was Ohio. Last month, its Casino Control Commission (OCCC) banned player prop bets on college sports following a request from the NCAA. Baker had reached ..

March 27, 2024

Leading US operators launch Responsible Online Gaming Association

Seven of North America's largest operators have joined together to launch the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) in a bid to promote responsible gaming (RG).

ROGA is aiming to promote best RG practices among the industry. BetMGM, Bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and Penn Entertainment are all collaborating.

According to the launch announcement, the companies involved represent over 85% of the legalised online sports betting and igaming industry in the US. They have pledged more than $20m (£15.8m/€18.5m) to support ROGA’s objectives over the first year of its existence.

Dr Jennifer Shatley will serve as ROGA’s executive director, tapping into her 25 years of experience within the industry and extensive work as an RG executive to facilitate widespread education on the topic.

Shatley’s work with ROGA will take place alongside her role as president of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, as well as her position as a member of t..

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