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 (or fashionably late) Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top US sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories. Also check out this week’s Wild World of Gambling at US Bets.
Top stories from around our network
Vegas Golden Knights Announce Partnership With A Tout Service [Sports Handle]
Not sure what’s more confusing: the VGK partnering with a tout service or the VGK skipping over handicappers who have lived in Vegas for 20+ years for a group in a country known for soccer and fixed baseball.
— Spread Investor (@spreadinvestor) February 25, 2021
Can't wait until tomorrow when the @GoldenKnights will probably name an official fentanyl distributor partnership or something
— Aaron Kessler (@aaronkessler) February 24, 2021
Golden Knights blasted for partnership with sports betting tout service, with reax from @robertusfsports @aaronkessler and UNLV gaming historian David Schwartz https://t.co/X0I3Gv1sDe via @reviewjournal
— Todd Dewey (@tdewey33) February 27, 2021
Penn National Finds (Potential) Sports Betting, iCasino Route Into NY [US Bets]
Arizona Senate Rules Committee Sends Sports Betting To Floor [Sports Handle]
Texas Bill Would Allow Pro Teams To Be Licensed Sportsbook Operators [Sports Handle]
Sportradar Now Valued Around $10 Billion, As SPAC Rumors Resurface [Sports Handle]
March Madness Coming In States With Complicated College Sports Betting Rules [US Bets]
A look at Puerto Rico sports betting rules
The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission earlier this month released sports betting rules, and while the rules don’t appear to include anything too out of the ordinary, there are some oddities, in part due to the fact that cock fighting is a key cultural activity in the territory. To that end, the rules allow for sports wagering at qualifying cock-fighting venues, and in an effort to prop up those venues, cock-fighting locations won’t be required to pay a sports betting licensing fee for the first 10 years. Qualifying horse-racing venues will get a 50% break on licensing for 10 years.
The new law allows for sports betting at licensed casinos and horse racetracks, as well as at hotels, inns, OTBs and cockpits. The fee for an annual casino or horse-track license is set at $50,000. The fee for “point of sale” or satellite locations is set at $2,500. Digital operators are required to be tethered to a brick-and-mortar location, and are further required to have a physical presence in Puerto Rico where they can provide customer service.
The tax rate is set at 7% for brick-and-mortar locations, and 12% for digital wagers.
Some highlights from the law and rules:
- The legal age for wagering is set at 18;
- eSports are among the legal events to wager on;
- Daily fantasy sports become legal;
- Wagering is permitted on professional, college, and Olympic sports;
- The commission may limit a player to deposits of $2,500 per month into a digital account;
- At a brick-and-mortar location, wagering can be available via kiosk, ticket-writer window, or at the facility’s main cage;
- Bettors can put themselves on self-exclusion lists for one year, 18 months, three years, or five years. There is also a lifetime voluntary exclusion list. Once on a list, bettors cannot apply to have the term shortened.
ND House votes for sports betting referendum
The North Dakota House voted to send sports betting in iPoker to the voters this week, when it passed a group of bills calling for a referendum and describing some infrastructure. On the sports betting side ND 1234, which would allow for betting on pro sports only,, passed the House, 56-38, on Tuesday, and ND 3032, which calls for a referendum, passed, 70-24. A bill that would have allowed for North Dakota tribes to renegotiate their pacts and offer digital sports betting failed, as did a bill that would have allowed for historic horse racing.
North Dakota is bordered by two states with legal sports betting, though it’s only live in Montana. South Dakota voters approved sports wagering on the November 2020 ballot, but lawmakers aren’t in agreement about what that will look like and haven’t approved infrastructure yet. Earlier this year, a pair of Minnesota lawmakers filed the first of about four sports betting related bills, all of which have been assigned to committee, but no action has been taken yet.
More of the most interesting, important stories
Georgia or New York: Which state will regulate sports betting first? @DavidPurdum sets the line for both.
Full Gamble On podcast with @EricRaskin and @BergenBrennan here: https://t.co/RQ18ujU5aU pic.twitter.com/PyHPkKazmm
— US Bets (@US_Bets) February 26, 2021
FOLLOW THE MONEY: Responsible gambling advocates need more influence to succeed [GGB]
MO-TOWN: Rip Hamilton talks sports betting ‘Kiss of Death’, famous face mask & more [MI Bets]
DESERTED: Could Trump Plaza site become the key to renaissance of Atlantic City? [NJOG]
IRON MAN: Cal Ripken Jr. partners with DraftKings [DK]
BATTLE LINES: Dispute over voter rights/suppression efforts ties up sports betting [CDC Gaming]
FLORIDA MEN: Two reps push for legalized sports betting in Florida [FL Politics]
MARKET ACCESS: Carousel Group & Caesars sign multi-state agreement [CDC Gaming]
EARNINGS: DK cites higher hold among factors behind 2020 Q4 revenue beat [Sports Handle]
MILE HIGH: Superlatives abound during record month in Colorado [CO Bets]
MIDDLEMAN: Tennessee looking into peer-to-peer sports betting model [TN Bets]
