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
In-person sports betting is planned to start in Massachusetts in late January, more than a month ahead of digital wagering, and the state’s regulator has begun giving some of the key approvals to make it happen.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday made Encore Boston Harbor the first of the state’s three casinos to be approved for a retail sportsbook license. Earlier in the week, the commission delayed action on the retail applications from PENN Entertainment’s Plainridge Park and from MGM Springfield. The deferral for now on Plainridge Park came amid concerns raised by commissioners about PENN’s Barstool Sportsbook and its reliance on controversial Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, as outlined in a recent New York Times article.
The Massachusetts regulator may give more scrutiny to the PENN-Portnoy relationship than has been the case in other states, but the unusual partnership hasn’t interfered with any licensing processes elsewhere, and it would be surprising if sports bettors can’t end up placing wagers next year at Plainridge Park like other venues. The commission could end up deciding that issue next week.
Sports Handle and its network of sites and reporters will continue following that and other developments in Massachusetts, as well as much more in sports betting and the wider gambling industry, like these stories of the past week.
Arizona still might want to tinker
Are Arizona tribes being left behind as sports wagering grows?
If at first you don’t succeed …
South Carolina lawmaker proposes amendment to legalize sports betting
With Twitter, you should discriminate
Navigating social media to become a more intelligent bettor
Operators could use some PR lessons
Sportsbook industry fails the crisis communication test
This one makes for good legal reading
Attorneys clash on ‘improper influence’ claims in appeal of RICO charges against Steve Wynn
Things are tighter north of border
Canadian regulators get aggressive, TKO UFC betting amid scandal
Some steaming over streaming going on
Media notebook: Bally’s Sports takes steps to distance Sinclair from MLB negotiations
Six-digit code is coming, remember it
New authentication steps coming to all PA online gaming sites
Big names competing for big gaming
Jay-Z in Times Square casino state of mind as bid competition builds
Chicago ahead of NYC on casino plan
Bally’s presents updated Chicago casino plans to public
The smell of smoke lingers in NJ
Smoking inside casinos in Atlantic City will likely end, but when?
Illinois filled with big bettors
Illinois posts its first $1 billion monthly sports wagering handle
Kansas Speaker: Not on my watch
When Kansas lawmakers last spring legalized sports betting, they required that 80% of tax revenue be directed to a fund that would be used to lure professional sports teams to the state. At the time, the state budget office projected that the fund could have $10 million by 2025, according to the Kansas City Star. But revenue reports from the first two months of legal wagering show $270,705 in tax revenue — and that’s during the betting-heavy football season. At that level, the state would take in $1.25 million over 12 months, or just under $3 million by 2025, far short of the projection.
Some politicians including Gov. Laura Kelly have recently expressed interest in revisiting the law with the idea of reallocating those funds — which even at $10 million would not have put the state in a strong position to lure a professional sports team. But incoming Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins said he has “no interest, whatsoever” in discussing a change, according to the Star.
— Jill R. Dorson
Billion-dollar Beaver State
Oregon became the 19th state in the post-PASPA era to surpass $1 billion in total sports wagering handle after the Oregon Lottery reported $55.5 million worth of accepted bets in November.
The Beaver State needed 38 months to reach the milestone figure, though the pace picked up in January when DraftKings became the lottery’s official sports wagering platform. Year-over-year handle is up 49.1% to $444.2 million through the first 11 months of 2022, and November’s figure represented the state’s second-highest total all-time.
The move to DraftKings has also helped state coffers. Sports wagering revenue for 2022 has increased 57.6% compared to the same period last year, with the 9.9% hold more than one-half percentage point higher. The $43.8 million, minus fees, that has gone into the state’s tax coffers is 57.6% more than the $27.8 million through the first 11 months of 2021.
— Chris Altruda
Bets to come on slapping, putting
The Pro League Network on Thursday announced its launch as a source bringing unusual sports betting opportunities to sportsbook operators and the public. The network provided last Saturday’s SlapFight Championship, on which DraftKings listed odds in a few authorized states. It has plans in February for a “World Putting League” championship series in partnership with the U.S. Pro MiniGolf Association, for which betting has been approved in Colorado and Wyoming.
Pro League Network co-founders Mike Salvaris and Bill Yucatonis said in a press release that they aim to address two gaps in the U.S. sports betting market: “First is availability — there are plenty times of day and days of week where there aren’t a lot of wagering options. The second is niches — there are passionate fans out there of sports that don’t make it on ESPN. These audiences are significant, loyal, and in many cases already bet informally.”
Sanctioned strongman and paintball events were among other niche competitions the Pro League Network identified as those on which it would be promoting betting with operators and regulators.
— Gary Rotstein
More of the most important, interesting stories
THERE WERE GOOD ODDS THIS WAS COMING: I-Team: Calls to gambling crisis hotlines are soaring [NBC New York]
BAN, BAM, THANK YOU, M’AM: Alberta: AGLC reinstates UFC betting [CDC Gaming Reports]
WASHINGTON STATE LIKES THINGS PERSONAL: Sports betting opens in Lower Columbia with the ilani’s new sportsbook counter, kiosks [KPVI]
LAS VEGAS SHOULDN’T REALLY FRET: Plans for giant guitar-shaped hotel at site of Mirage revealed by Hard Rock executives [KTNV]
Las Vegas: Plans for giant, guitar-shaped hotel at site of Mirage revealed by Hard Rock executives https://t.co/R8OVDDYZjq
— CDC Gaming Reports (@CDCNewswire) December 7, 2022
LOOSE LAW FOLLOWS TIGHT LABOR MARKET: Gov. Kathy Hochul weighs bill to let criminals work in New York casinos [New York Post]
BOOKIES CAUGHT IN A PINCH: World Cup betting sting nabs 46 bookmaking suspects in Malaysia [Inside Asian Gaming]
BISMARCK IS FOR BETTORS: Gov. Burgum, North Dakota tribes sign gambling compacts [Associated Press]
OH, I WANNA GO, I WANNA GO: SBC Summit North America 2023 to offer insights into fast-growing iGaming and sports betting [CDC Gaming Reports]
