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 stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
Top stories around our network this week
The LIV Golf/PGA Tour spat isn’t going away soon, and neither are the betting implications. The LIV issue has made this week’s U.S. Open a bit awkward, and maybe a bit more intriguing, but questions remain about how it impacts the sports and betting spheres.
"Y'all are throwing a black cloud over the U.S. Open, and I think that sucks."
Brooks Koepka was getting a little annoyed with all the questions about the LIV Golf Series. pic.twitter.com/efRtTldE0D
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 14, 2022
Could LIV Golf partner with a U.S. sportsbook? What kind of betting offerings will be available for future LIV events? These are some of the questions bouncing around in our heads this week, and we’re bound to find more as the golf world drama turns in the coming weeks and months.
Progress!
Kansas regulators moving swiftly ahead of July 1 effective date
Progress?
North Carolina legislators plan to increase tax rate in sports wagering bill
Ruh roh
Report confirms ‘astounding amount of dirty money’ laundered through B.C. casinos
Audit reveals concerns about Colorado Division of Gaming
Former Penn National engineer charged with insider trading in Score Media purchase
WorldPay fined for 13 days of unlicensed operation in Colorado
Pennsylvania gaming board accused of improper efforts to curtail “skill games”
Let it out, Larry
Maryland governor frustrated by mobile sports wagering delay
Never ever ever
Hedging one’s bets is never ideal, but never say never
Let’s head up north
Three takeaways from the Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto
Revenue reports
New York sports betting hits a weekly low for the year
PA iCasino and sports betting revenue held steady in May, but not retail casinos
Handle at Michigan online sportsbooks takes downward turn in May
Louisiana sports wagering operators recorded a historic rout in May
Iowa latest state to surpass $1 billion in 2022 sports wagering handle
Connecticut sports wagering and iGaming revenue dip slightly for May
Illinois casino revenue slips to $116.6 million for May
Horse racing never stops
Will fixed-odds horse racing ever get off the ground in Colorado?
Meadowlands owner calls out horsemen for insufficient support
It only took a year for an Oceanport couple to land a piece of a Triple Crown race winner
BetMGM, PB first to apply in Ohio
BetMGM and PointsBet on Friday became the first two sportsbook operators to apply for licenses in Ohio, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. The OCCC on Friday began posting a list of which operators had applied ahead of the Jan. 1, 2023, go-live date. The list will be updated weekly.
PointsBet and BetMGM both applied for mobile management services provider licenses, while BetMGM also applied for a management services provider license, which would be used to operate a retail sportsbook. MGM has market access in Ohio as owner of the MGM Northfield Casino, while PointsBet has market access for a mobile platform through an existing deal with Penn National Gaming.
No casinos or professional sports teams had applied for licenses as of Friday. The first application window is open June 15-July 15, and the OCCC said any entity that applies within that window will be eligible for approval by the universal launch date.
Hard Rock coming to California
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will be the latest addition to the California gaming landscape, and the company is now positioned to have market access for legal sports betting in the state. You can expect to see the Hard Rock Sportsbook in both retail and online here eventually. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed off on a tribal-state compact that will put 320 acres in Kern County in a trust for the Tejon Indian Tribe, which is partnered with Hard Rock, according to Bakersfield Now. The new resort will use about 52 acres of the land, and 5,000 jobs will be created.
Wagering isn’t currently legal in California, but in November voters are expected to see on the ballot two initiatives to allow it. An initiative backed by tribes that would allow for retail-only betting has already qualified for the ballot, and a second proposal backed by major commercial operators is expected to get final approval for the ballot by the end of June.
— Jill R. Dorson
New tribal books coming to SD, WA
A compact authorizing the Crow Creek Sioux tribe to offer sports betting at its tribal casino was approved and published in the Federal Register on June 14. The Crow Creek tribe owns and operates the Lode Star Casino in Fort Thompson, South Dakota. No word yet on when a sportsbook will open at the casino.
South Dakota legalized retail sports betting at the existing Deadwood casinos in 2021, but so far the legislature has resisted adding online betting in the state. Tribal casinos are allowed to open retail sportsbooks at their casinos once they get federal approval, and a handful have done so.
Also on June 14, a compact authorizing the Sauk-Suiattle tribe to offer sports betting was approved and published in the Federal Register. The Sauk-Suiattle are a small tribe located in remote Darrington, Washington. The tribe owns a casino, but it is currently closed for renovations. Once the casino reopens, the tribe may opt to add a sportsbook.
— Ted Dahlstrom
Neymar’s turn at poker
Soccer star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior this week turned up at a different kind of sporting venue — the poker rooms at Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s — where he played in a few WSOP events in preparation for a shot at a WSOP bracelet. Neymar played in a $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship last weekend, where he was eliminated before the final table seat draw. Monday, Neymar was among 16 well-known Brazilian poker players in a special “Neymar & Friends” $10,000 event. He went on to try for a WSOP bracelet, playing in three events in which the winner was awarded a bracelet, but Neymar didn’t win.
Win or lose, it looked like he had a good time:
Welcome back @neymarjr ! pic.twitter.com/mVxg3ag8fr
— WSOP (@WSOP) June 13, 2022
– Jill R. Dorson
More of the most important, interesting stories
OOPS: Ad glitch puts Treasure Island ad in the strike zone during Rays-Twins game [AwfulAnnouncing]
AIMING HIGH?: Wyoming regulator hoping for at least 50,000 wagering accounts in state [NewsRecord]
WHATCHA GOT?: Oregon Council on Problem Gambling now accepting research proposals [CDCGaming]
WEAK FINISH: Triple Crown betting started strong but faded through Preakness, Belmont [DailyRacingForm]
Our new VIP ROOM in the FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino is NOW OPEN! 🙌 This exclusive room has 1,100 square feet of sports watching and betting entertainment that includes a bar, 15 HD TVs, and plush leather seating. pic.twitter.com/LUlmzaEF6N
— MotorCity Casino (@MotorCityCasino) June 17, 2022
TEXAS WIN: Tribe gets right to offer bingo, ending three-decade fight with state [ElPasoMatters]
NO MORE MODELS HERE: Starting June 30, Dutch operators can’t use role models in ads [iGamingBiz]
LESSON: The U.S. is barreling toward a reckoning in gaming. Just ask those in the UK [WiredUK]
SCARY SAUDIS: Golf’s new LIV Tour has the PGA Tour running scared. And rightfully so [LAT]
Our new VIP ROOM in the FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino is NOW OPEN! 🙌 This exclusive room has 1,100 square feet of sports watching and betting entertainment that includes a bar, 15 HD TVs, and plush leather seating. pic.twitter.com/LUlmzaEF6N
— MotorCity Casino (@MotorCityCasino) June 17, 2022
ICASINO VS. WAGERING: A poll in Canada shows those in smaller provinces favor casino [Yahoo!]
ILLINOIS AT RISK: Study shows 11% of residents have or at risk for gambling problem [CenterSquare]
