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 stories and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.
Tribal leader: CT sports betting can get done
Maybe legal sports betting isn’t a dead issue in Connecticut for this year after all. A week after Governor Ned Lamont said “I don’t think we’re going to see it happen this session,” while standing beside Mashantucket Pequot Council Chairman Rodney Butler at a tourism conference, Butler said he hasn’t given up hope while at the ICE North America Conference in Boston this week.
According to CDC Gaming Reports, Butler said, “I think we’re closer than the headlines would indicate. We’re still actively talking and only a few weeks left in the session and all have to work hard and stay focused on it, but I think we are all aligned. Connecticut should be competitive and that includes having sports betting and online gaming. It’s now about working out the details between now and the end of the session. If not, they can have a special session.”
Butler said both his tribe, which runs the Foxwoods Casino, and the Mohegans, who own the Mohegan Sun Casino, believe that the current pact gives them exclusivity to sports betting both via mobile device and at their casinos. Among the sticking points all along, though, has been the potential for a commercial casino to be built in Connecticut. Should that happen, the pacts would need to be renegotiated. But Butler isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
The Pequots and Mohegans are the only tribes active in the gaming business in Connecticut, meaning that there are really only three players at the negotiating table — the state and the two tribes.
“If everyone is committed to it, we should be able to get it done,” Butler said. “The fact there’s not 20 people negotiating makes it a lot easier. We all know that we want to do sports betting and should have it.”
Connecticut’s general assembly adjourns June 8.
Stay tuned.
New NH amendment would legalize state-wide mobile
An amendment added to HB 480 would allow up to five mobile/internet licenses for state-wide mobile sports betting. The amendment was added Wednesday, and the Senate moved the bill forward with an “Ought to pass with amendment” recommendation. The bill has now been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
HB 480, which was introduced on Jan. 10, cleared the House on March 19. Should New Hampshire legalize sports betting, it would become the second New England state to do so, behind Rhode Island, which legalized last summer and opened its physical sportsbooks in November.
New Hampshire’s General Court adjourns June 30.
More of the most important stories
GAME CHANGERS: 5 key moments since PASPA was overturned. [USBets]
NEW SPORTSBOOK: The Rivers Casino is building out a new sportsbook ahead of NY approving regulations. [TimesUnion]
NEW SPORTSBOOK II: The Del Lago Casino has also started construction on a sportsbook. [NYUp]
OOPS: William Hill’s Tinder ad was banned in the UK. [USBets]
SLOW POKES: A look at why tribal casinos are slow to add sports betting. [CDCGaming]
GETTING EDUCATED: Here’s what we’ve learned in the year since PASPA was repealed. [ESPN]
Just in: Looks like Tennessee #sportsbetting will be officially legalized come Friday, May 24. The bill was transmitted to governor today, on the one-year anniversary of #PASPA's demise. Gov said he won't sign the bill, but will let it become law. That happens 10 days from now.
— Brian Pempus (@brianpempus) May 14, 2019
HIT OR MISS? Fox has a history of failed investments in digital properties. [AwfulAnnouncing]
SENSIBLE BEDFELLOWS: Expect more and more media companies and casinos to partner. [Bloomberg]
LOOKING AHEAD: A DraftKings’ exec shares view of the future of New Jersey sports betting. [NJ.com]
PLACE YOUR BETS: Iowans should be able to make sports bets by football season. [Register]
AGA’S NEW RULES: The group released new advertising and marketing “self-regulations.” [CDCGaming]
SLOW GOING IN CA: As states continue to legalize sports betting, California is lagging. [DesertSun]
One year ago today, the Supreme Court paved the way for the legalization of sports betting in the U.S. It's now legal in 10 states, and Big Media is cashing in https://t.co/TbAYyevxq5 pic.twitter.com/aSu0vhRlVB
— Variety (@Variety) May 15, 2019
ICYMI at Sports Handle
Preakness: Can Improbable capitalize on Maximum Security’s absence?
At ICE North America, tempers flare at panel on requirements of official league data.
PA sports betting revenue swoons in April, but mobile coming soon.
Q&A with MGM’s Scott Butera a year after PASPA was overturned.
Caesars, ESPN partner on sports betting content.
Casino bill in New Hampshire killed to clear path for sports betting.
Iowa governor signs sports betting into law.
Veto override a possibility for second Montana sports betting bill.
In the wider world of sports
Here's Zion's reaction when the Pelicans won the No. 1 pick 🎥 pic.twitter.com/RdPCL1eJ59
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 15, 2019
DALY’S WILD RIDE: People’s champion at Bethpage Black – Diet Coke, smokes and a golf cart. [ESPN]
THAT’S NASTY: Here’s how the Rays’ Jose Alvarado developed baseball’s nastiest pitch. [NYT]
GET A ROOM: But expect to pay a premium for the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. [ReviewJournal]
WHAT!?: Jets fire their GM, and leave chaos for whoever comes next. [SI]
STAR TURN: NBA player Boban Marjanovic plays an assassin in upcoming Hollywood film. [WSJ]
Fans running onto a baseball diamond and trying to evade security should be its own sport. pic.twitter.com/RlwrdKYQZU
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) May 16, 2019
