Week In Sports Betting: Michigan Sends Bill To Governor, NJ Record

Wolverine State could be last to legalize in 2019 while NJ a winner on every front

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.

Here comes Michigan

Michiganders could be able to place a sports bet as soon as March Madness, if things go the way lawmakers hope. On Wednesday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed and the House concurred on a package of iGaming and sports betting bills that are now headed to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her signature. The bills legalize mobile sports betting, and while there is no timeline in the key sports betting bill, HB 4916, Michigan may be positioned to launch as quickly as neighbor Indiana did last fall. The Hoosier State legalized in May and had live sports betting by Sept. 1. Michigan, like Indiana, already has an existing gaming infrastructure, and the licensing process could be streamlined (as regulators will be quicker to approve operators that are already up and running in some other states).

Study: NJ sets bar for iGaming economic impact

According to a new report commissioned by iDea Growth, New Jersey is a gaming leader in yet another category — economic impact. The Economic Impact of New Jersey Online Gambling study released on Tuesday show that iGaming created 6,552 jobs, brought in $401 million in wages, and raised $259.3 million of local and state tax revenue between 2013-18. The study, which was conducted by Meister Economic Consulting and Victor-Strategies, looked at all sorts of online gaming, from poker to sports betting. Mobile sports betting went live in New Jersey in June 2018, and since then, gross gaming revenue across the state has risen dramatically, according to iDea. Last year, GGR was $299.1 million, a 21.6% increase over 2017, and GGR is projected to be up 51 percent over 2018 this year, at $452 million.

“The results of this report demonstrate the economic, regulatory and consumer safeguard wins that mobile gaming and betting offers a state. Eighty percent of sports betting wagers are already placed on mobile devices or online. When bets are done legally and in the proper regulatory framework, everyone wins,” said Jeff Ifrah, founder of iDEA Growth.

NJ numbers

For the third consecutive month, New Jersey sportsbooks broke their own record, this time, taking in $562.7 million in November. That was the first time the Garden State had a handle exceeding half a billion in a single month. The state eclipsed $4 billion in handle for 2019, and operators have grossed a collective $250 million in 2019, resulting in about $30 million in tax revenue. FanDuel and PointsBet, both of whom operate via partnerships with the Meadowlands, produced $12.2 million in revenue last month.

In the wider world of sports

HEY, STRANGER: LSU quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t get to campus too often. [WSJ]

COME HERE: Raiders exec: Being in Vegas great for enticing free agents. [ReviewJournal]

The Giants started blasting “Let It Go” at practice immediately after releasing Janoris Jenkins pic.twitter.com/5Hzh2wHsLl

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 13, 2019

THREE UP: In 2020, MLB will require pitchers to face at least three batters. [Yahoo!]

STERN UNDERGOES EMERGENCY SURGERY: Former NBA Commissioner David Stern was admitted to a New York hospital Thursday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. [ESPN]

WINNERS AND LOSERS: Who did what/got what at the MLB Winter Meetings. [SI]

MLB has become the first major American sports league to remove marijuana from its list of drugs abuse. https://t.co/CxcB6q9mCt

— ABC News (@ABC) December 13, 2019