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 U.S. sports betting headlines, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
Top stories around our network this week
Headlined by movement in Georgia, which appears to be the state most likely to legalize sports wagering in 2023, state legislatures and regulators across the country have been busy considering and tweaking what legal betting will look like in multiple states.
Georgia lawmakers considered multiple bills this week, including one that would legalize only mobile betting and another that would put the decision to legalize before voters. One proposal would legalize via an expansion of gaming through the lottery, and HB 380 would allow professional sports teams or venues to get licensed for sports betting.
New Jersey may become one of a handful of states to allow legal wagering on esports. Its Assembly’s State and Local Government Committee moved forward a bill that would allow for wagering on esports and would also allow casinos two esports-only betting platforms — to keep costs down — in addition to full-fledged wagering platforms.
In Nebraska, Hall of Fame football coach Tom Osborne wrote a letter against a bill that would lift the ban on betting on college teams playing in the state. Current law allows for wagering on college sports with the exception of local teams playing at home. Osborne has consistently opposed legal wagering of any kind, while Lynne McNally of WarHorse Casino testified that “the only thing the current law accomplishes is it pushes bets to Iowa,” according to the Lincoln Journal-Star.
In Oklahoma, a bill that would give Indian Country exclusivity while allowing for statewide digital and retail betting advanced this week. HB 1027, which would require that at least four tribes re-compact with the state for wagering, got the nod from the Appropriations and Budget Select Agencies Subcommittee and will be considered next by the full House Appropriations Committee. The tribes would pay the state an annual fee based on a sliding scale of revenue.
In other legislative news, Vermont lawmakers this week discussed how best to regulate operators and provide consumers with responsible gambling tools, according to VTDigger, and the Montana House Business and Labor Committee held a hearing on a bill that would require lottery sports betting partners to hold an “appropriate” liquor license.
Coming next week, Illinois lawmakers will consider a bill which would require that after every 10 wagers on a digital platform, a pop-up message around responsible gaming must appear. Maryland lawmakers will discuss whether to prohibit sports betting operators from partnering with colleges or universities in some situations, and a Missouri Senate committee will take its first crack at a statewide digital wagering bill backed by casinos and professional sports teams. A mirror bill in the House had broad support earlier this month, but was not put to a vote.
The week that was saw Sports Handle and its sister sites unpack several pieces of legislation, as well as cover topics as varied as streaming latency and the color of Rihanna’s dress.
— Jill R. Dorson
That was some Super Bowl, eh?
GeoComply logs over 100 million Super Bowl geolocation checks
Nevada Super Bowl handle slips to $153 million
Rihanna’s Super Bowl outfit creates a wild sports betting tale
Pre-destined: FanDuel’s $10 million Gronk Super Bowl promo misses mark
Super Bowl betting of the future is here
The future of Super Bowl betting could depend on faster streams
Micro- and macro-level analysis of Super Bowl LVII microbetting
Gaming money goes up, up, up
AGA reports record $60.4 billion in total gaming revenue for 2022
How we doin’ on Wall Street?
Monthly stock watch: Strong start to ’23 as books guide to profitability in second half
DraftKings delivers Q4 earnings beat as questions remain on profitability
You’ve been very bad boys
DraftKings, PENN agree to pay hefty fines tied to promoting Ohio launch
Monarch Casino fined $400,000 in Colorado for proxy betting
It’s quite a taxing situation
Governor DeWine wants to double sports betting tax
Tennessee wagering regulator concerned about unrealized tax revenue
Virginia bills to reinstate promotional tax deductions tabled in committee
Welcome to the show … or not
BetPARX launches as 17th mobile betting option in Ohio
SuperBook Sports nears Maryland mobile wagering launch
Fanatics won’t be part of universal Massachusetts mobile launch
Virginia is finally explained
Virginia 2002: FanDuel’s dominance, promotional play, and carryovers
Goodbye, you’ll be missed
Colorado Gaming Director Dan Hartman to retire in May
It’s numbers-crunching time
New York sets new wagering handle record at just shy of $1.8 billion in January
New Jersey sets another record for single-month online casino revenue
Maryland sportsbooks continue roll, rack up $59.6 million in January revenue
Massachusetts’ sports wagering debut: $511K handle and a small overall loss
Ohioans pumped about $850,000 into betting kiosks in first month
Mojo opens NBA exchange market
Mojo, a sports betting exchange that’s currently operational in New Jersey and hopes to expand to other states, opened trading on the career values of more than 100 current NBA players on Thursday.
With a share price of $516.41, LeBron James is, unsurprisingly, the priciest NBA player dating back to 1980, according to Mojo’s metrics, which incorporate a slew of statistical categories to calculate an athlete’s banked value, projected future value, and share price. Rounding out the five most valuable current players are Kevin Durant ($392.38), Giannis Antetokounmpo ($381.07), Luka Doncic ($373.26), and Nikola Jokic ($355.40).
Prior to its NBA launch, the fledgling jock market offered trading on NFL players and collegiate quarterbacks and launched its “Liquid Props” feature — described as “day trading meets sports betting” — in advance of the Super Bowl.
— Mike Seely
Sign up here to offer wagering in Maine
Maine’s Gambling Control Unit on Tuesday opened up the application process for operators, vendors, and suppliers interested in being active in the state. The new law allows for retail and digital wagering to run through the state’s four Indian tribes. Commercial operators, including PENN Entertainment, which runs a casino in the state, cannot directly offer digital betting. Casinos, racetracks, and OTBs are eligible to apply for brick-and-mortar licenses.
Facilities interested in having retail betting ($40,000 application fee) and mobile operators ($200,000 application fee) would fill out the “Business Entity” application, which requires providing financial background, a breakdown of internal controls, and other information.
— Jill R. Dorson
XPoint ‘wins’ suit vs. GeoComply
A federal court approved a motion last week to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit brought by geolocation service GeoComply against competitor XPoint. The motion was dismissed with prejudice, and a federal circuit court judge in Delaware wrote that he dismissed on “the grounds that it attempts to claim unpatentable subject matter,” according to Yahoo! Finance.
“From the beginning of this litigation Xpoint has maintained that it has conducted its business legally and appropriately,” XPoint CEO Marvin Sanderson said in a press release. “As a company, we remained confident that we would prevail in this matter, as GeoComply’s allegations were false, meritless, and a thinly veiled attempt to improperly maintain its monopoly on the gaming geolocation marketplace.”
Vancouver-based GeoComply provides geolocation services to nearly every legal sports betting operator in the U.S. It said that it disagreed with the judge’s ruling and is “evaluating next steps in all available forums.”
XPoint, founded in 2019, works with daily fantasy providers and Sporttrade, a wagering platform modeled after the stock market that is live in New Jersey.
— Jill R. Dorson
More of the most important, interesting stories
NOT AS MANY ADS AS YOU THINK: Online betting ad revenue slumps [TV Tech]
BAD TIMING, WILL HILL: Nevada Gaming Control Board investigating ongoing William Hill sportsbook outage [KTNV]
RIDLEY’S READY, IF NFL IS: Source: Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley applies for reinstatement [ESPN.com]
#Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley is applying for reinstatement today.
His career stats…
• 35 games
• 248 catches
• 3,342 receiving yards
• 28 TDs
• $3,900 bet on the NFL pic.twitter.com/jwV4rS5Ljr— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) February 15, 2023
OFFICIALLY TYING KNOT, FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Barstool Sports is acquired by PENN Entertainment [The Associated Press]
MISSISSIPPI COULD NOW BE IN THE MOOD: Legislation opening the door to legalize mobile sports betting passes Mississippi House [SuperTalk Mississippi Media]
ARKANSANS GOT IN ON THE ACTION: Super Bowl wagering hits $2.8 million at Arkansas casinos [Talk Business & Politics]
