Betting News Archives

April 3, 2024

Mississippi senate committee keeps online sports betting bill alive

On 2 April, Mississippi's senate gaming committee held a special two-minute meeting in an effort to keep a statewide mobile sports betting bill alive with about a month left in the legislative session.

During the meeting, committee chairman David Blount said that he had been told that “people have been talking” about the Mississippi sports betting bill HB 774 in an effort to reach consensus. He added that “if people are talking, that is a good thing and we want to let them continue to do that.”

The committee adopted a strike-all bill, which in this case updates the bill with codes used in the house. While it does not change any of the text, it does keep the online sports betting bill alive. The state legislature is scheduled to be in session until 5 May and HB 774 passed the house on 1 February. It was transmitted to the senate on 5 February and then assigned to the gaming committee on 27 February.

Tuesday was the final day for a committee to pass out a bill that did not orig..

April 2, 2024

Nearly $200m wagered in first week of North Carolina sports betting

The Tar Heel State has released its first week's sports betting figures, with a total handle already nearing a quarter of a billion dollars.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission has plenty of reasons to celebrate with over $198m wagered in the first week of sports betting, starting on Monday 11 March.

Detailed numbers have been released by the Commission’s first sports betting report. In total, payouts amounted to $142m from the $198m wagered, with $43m in gross wagering revenue.

A further breakdown revealed that $24m was wagered on the market’s first day. Of that total, $11m was paid out in gross wagering revenue. North Carolina is subject to an 18% tax rate on gross gaming revenue.

Which operators are live in North Carolina?

So far, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission has awarded eight interactive sports wagering licences to operators.

FanDuel, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Fanatics, Bet365, BetMGM, ESPN Bet and Underdog have all secured licences.
..

April 2, 2024

Ohio sports betting revenue down by 41.4% despite Super Bowl

Sports betting revenue in Ohio fell by over 40% in February, despite the Super Bowl early in the month.

Sports betting revenue dropped 41.4% to $66.3m (£52.8m/€61.5m) in February from January’s figure of $113.1m. February’s revenue was also 18.5% down year-on-year, with Ohio accumulating $81.3m in the same month last year, which was the second month of its sports betting market launching.

Ohio also saw a 17.2% decrease in handle, from $810.4m in January to $671.1m in February. However, February’s handle amount was 5% more than the $639m in bets received in the same month last year.

$599.7m was paid out in winnings during February, while $28.3m was written off as promotions. Taxable revenue amounted to $67.6m.

Ohio’s online sports betting sector continues to dominate the market. It was responsible for $66.4m in revenue and $657.7m in handle, the latter of which accounts for 98% of the monthly total. Retail actually finished in the red for the month, losing $122,288 during February.
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April 2, 2024

Virginia wagering revenue report: February handle up 26% over last year

Virginians laid down $545.1m in bets in February, a 25.6% increase over the same period in 2023. Sportsbooks paid the state a total of $6.3m in taxes and had a hold of 9.18%.

Sportsbooks are taxed at 15% of adjust gross revenue (AGR). According to the Virginia Lottery wagering revenue report, 11 operators finished the month with “net positive AGR”.

Mobile betting accounted for $540m of the total while bettors wagered a combined $4.9m at retail locations. Promotions and deductions continued to decrease. After one senator proposed a cap on allowing operators to write off deductions in 2023, Virginia’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, went a step further and included a 12-month sunset on promotional deductions in his budget.

In total, four new operators also went live in 2023 in Virginia: Bet365 on 31 January 2023; Betfred on 1 February 2023; Betr on 6 September 2023 and SuperBook on 19 October 2023.

Betr, SuperBook only operators that can deduct promos

Bet365 and Betfred have passed th..

April 2, 2024

Nevada gambling revenue climbs again to $1.34bn in February

Gambling revenue in Nevada increased 8.5% year-on-year to $1.34bn (£1.07bn/€1.25bn) in February, driven by growth within the baccarat segment.

Revenue was clear of $1.24bn in February last year. It was also 4.7% higher than $1.28bn in January this year – the strongest opening month to a calendar year in Nevada history.

Slots drew the most revenue at $827.6m for the month, an increase of 0.6% from 2023. Of this total, $536.6m came from multi-denomination slot games and $207.6m penny slot machines.

However, only multi-denomination slot games reported growth in February. Revenue was lower across all other game types within this segment.

Baccarat was the highest area of growth during February. Revenue here was 75.5% higher at $180.1m. Blackjack revenue was also up 15.6% to $132.5m with craps revenue rising 22.0% to $44.7m.

Other areas of growth include Ultimate Texas Hold’em, where revenue edged up 4.4% to $18.0m, and pai gow poker 4.7% to $10.4m.

Sportsbook revenue rises as Nevada ..

April 1, 2024

Pari-mutuels to SCOTUS: Florida court decision in conflict with federal opinion

West Flagler and Associates (WFA), the pari-mutuel suing the US Department of the Interior over the validity of the 2021 Florida-Seminole tribe compact, filed a brief in US Supreme Court on 29 March arguing a state court opinion is in conflict with a lower federal court.

Should SCOTUS take the case – the court takes 100-150 of about 7,000 filed per year – it could change the state of wagering in Florida.

The Seminoles launched their Hard Rock Bet platform last November despite awaiting action on court cases in the Florida and US Supreme Courts. In Florida, WFA was suing Governor Ron DeSantis and the legislature saying they were out of bounds when they approved the compact. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition on 21 March, saying that WFA chose the wrong “vehicle” to file.

Late last week, WFA filed a supplemental brief in its writ of certiorari that is pending at SCOTUS. In the filing, WFA lawyers wrote that the Florida Supreme Court denial leaned on the idea that the cas..

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..

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