It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad). Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news and rounding up key stories.
Colorado liftoff
Chauncey Billups places the first bet with the new @BetRiversBook in Colorado, which launched today. Billups put $100 on Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at +2000.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) May 1, 2020
Check out our Colorado coverage:
- Four Go Live With In First Hour Of Colorado Legal Sports Betting
- Here Are The Operators Launching Online Colorado Sportsbooks On Friday (And Those In Queue)
- Colorado Ready For Takeoff After Emergency Licensing, Sports Betting Catalog Approvals
As of Thursday’s Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission meeting, all 33 commercial casinos in the state are licensed for sports betting, and six have been approved to live as early as May 1. Four – BetMGM, BetRivers, DraftKings and FanDuel – launched on Friday.
In addition, at a meeting this week, the LGCC added back NCAA sports to the list of approved wagers in the state, but removed a single wager out of concern that it was in violation of the law, which states that prop bets on individual college athletes are prohibited.
The LGCC also modified the language defining a proposition bet, which now reads:
1.4 Definitions. (15) “Proposition (Prop) bet” means a bet specifically naming an individual participant, or if a team sport, a specific position on a team, thus constituting a bet upon the actions of that individual or position, regarding the occurrence or non-occurrence of a certain outcome during an event that does not directly reflect the event’s final outcome.”
In other actions, the LGCC approved a long list of more minor licenses, mainly for media companies or other businesses that have a key interest in sports gambling coverage.
Done deal in Virginia
When the Virginia General Assembly and Senate approved gubernatorial amendments on VA sports wagering bills last week, the bills automatically became law. Some lawmakers believed the bills would need Gov. Ralph Northam’s signature after the chambers voted, but according to the state legislative website, both SB 384 and HB 896 were enacted immediately and are set to go into effect on July 1. Virginia is the second state behind Washington to legalize sports betting in 2020.
But it could be some time — perhaps up to a year — before the first legal sports bet gets placed in Virginia. States that do not have a mature gaming infrastructure, including an experienced regulatory agency, are generally slow to get up and running.
It’s coming up on a year since Tennessee — which legalized mobile only and has no casinos — legalized, and license applications were made available earlier this month, just a few weeks after regulations were approved. The goal is to have live sports betting by this summer.
NEW: Tennessee Lottery begins allowing potential sports betting operators to request an application packet from the state "when it becomes available" via this form:https://t.co/DnaaQeOj82
— Brian Pempus (@brianpempus) August 27, 2019
More of the most interesting, important and/or amusing stories
FREEDOM: Las Vegas gambler Bill Walters to be released from prison [LV-RJ]
WITHDRAWAL RUN: Sportsbooks grapple with bettors withdrawing funds as sports calendar remains frozen [SH]
MARCH SADNESS: Nevada mobile sportsbooks handle just $88.9M in March [US Bets]
GONE PUBLIC: DraftKings’ $6B+ market cap based on promise of U.S. sports betting market [John Wall Street]
I see draftkings share price getting puffed up by wildly ambitious growth expectations and profitability predictions from NA analysts that European online gambling people pull 🤨 faces at. If only there was *cough* AMAYA *cough* some examples of this from the past to learn from.
— Alun (@gamblinglamb) April 30, 2020
MERCY: When your favorite sport/league may be coming back [NY Mag]
IT SHOULD BE: Lack of action not a concern for ‘Sports Bet Montana’ [Helena]
MAIN STREET: Wait, Secretariat has 263 U.S. roads named after him?! [Chalk]
BOUNCEBACK: Gaming stocks jump on speculation over potential casino re-openings [CDC Gaming]
SBA: After lobbying push, casinos are eligible for small-business funds under new stimulus rules [WashPo]
ROUNDERS: Industry Insiders: Online poker can be a ‘lifesaver for sports betting operators’ [NJOG]
APPROVED: Illinois Gaming Board working through sports wagering license applications [SH]
