Online sports betting – Page 17

November 22, 2024

Wyoming Gaming Commission votes in rule to penalise those who harass athletes

The Wyoming Gaming Commission today (22 November) unanimously voted to amend its rules and put anyone found guilty of athlete harassment onto the state's involuntary exclusion list.

The decision came four months after a spirited discussion about banning college-player prop bets.

Commissioners in July discussed a ban, which the NCAA has been lobbying for around the country. But they determined that the bet is not the issue. Rather, the heart of the problem, commissioners said, is bettors who harass athletes, coaches, officials and others involved with sporting events.

At that meeting, Scott Ward, a lobbyist with the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) argued that banning prop bets would send bettors offshore. WGC operations manager Michael Steinberg presented his findings on the subject.

He offered several solutions, but ultimately explained: “We all agree that harassment of student athletes is bad and something that should not be tolerated. The question then becomes, is banning ..

November 22, 2024

State of the Union: DraftKings under fire, AGA reports record Q3 for gaming revenue

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

DraftKings under fire in MA, OH

On Wednesday (20 November) the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) levied a $425,000 (£335,028/€408,042) fine on DraftKings for two separate violations. The OCCC said DraftKings took college-player prop bets, which are banned in the state. It also said the company allowed accounts to be funded at “unauthorised” locations.

With regard to the college-player prop bets, DraftKings took bets 14-19 March, after the ban went into effect 1 March. In terms of account funding, the OCCC revealed that DraftKings took $2.5 million – on 40,985 deposits – at “non-gaming retail locations”.

Following the violations, the OCCC said DraftKings removed player-prop bets from its Ohio bet menu and stopped taking deposits at unapproved locations. The commission is requiring DraftKings to train i..

November 22, 2024

Massachusetts regulator requiring detailed data from operators on bet limits

Commission also takes a close look at the idea of permitting betting kiosks in assorted locations.

Over the course of this calendar year, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has made two things clear about its interest in the topic of sportsbooks and their alleged bet limits:

The commission does not intend to rush to draw any conclusions;

The commission will not stop in its efforts.

The latest evidence of both points came yesterday (21 November). A commission hearing on the issue led to a decision to have the Massachusetts Sports Wagering, Legal and Communications divisions send out a request for specific data to the state’s approved sports betting operators. The idea is to see how pervasive these limitations might be.

Data will allow review and analysis

The commission initially planned a discussion on bet limits in May. At that time, only one licensed operator appeared at the meeting. That set the stage for a September hearing that did include the operators. During that hearing,..

November 22, 2024

Belgium’s BAGO urges action over illegal gambling among young men

The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has called on authorities in the country to take a stricter approach to illegal gambling websites after new research revealed almost half young men aged 18-21 are gambling with unlicensed operators.

Commissioned by BAGO, the research took place prior to new rules being introduced on the minimum gambling age in Belgium. As of 1 September this year, players must be at least 21 to participate in legal gambling.

Age requirements for sports betting, arcades and bingo have now been raised to be in line with land-based casinos. Since 2018, players have had to be 21 to gamble at casinos across Belgium.

However, research flagged almost half of men aged 18-21 in Belgium were gambling with illegal operators before the law became effective. This, in essence, meant the new regulations would not have impacted their activities on illegal sites, which are not bound by the same rules as licensed operators.

Furthermore, the research suggests awarene..

November 21, 2024

When Alberta sports betting might launch a moving target

If it feels like we've been talking about when sports betting might go live in a second Canadian province for a while, that's because we have been. Alberta appears to be next on the list, but the timeframe remains open-ended.

At least two major US operators in the last month addressed the question during third-quarter earnings calls. Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said the target date “certainly has moved into 2025”. The company will “wait on the government, the regulators there, to tell us exactly when the go-live launch would be.”

The question is when? In the US, regulators and operators often point to the Super Bowl or NCAA March Madness as big events around which to launch.

In Canada, it’s possible that if the regulator is aiming for a big event, it would be the start of the Stanley Cup Finals in April. Alberta is home to two NHL teams – the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Another potential time would be in June, around the start of the Canadian Football Leag..

November 21, 2024

Massachusetts sets $748.1 million sports betting handle record in October

Consumers in Massachusetts spent $748.1 million (£591.9 million/€710.8 million) betting on sports during October, a new monthly handle record for the Bay state.

The October figure surpasses the exiting record of $678.7 million, which was just set in September, by 10.2%. It is also 30.8% ahead of $571.8 million last year, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Players wagered $735.0 million betting online and $13.1 million at retail sportsbooks across the state.

In terms of taxable revenue, operators generated $48.3 million in total for October. This falls 20.3% short of $60.6 million last year and lags 35.9% behind September’s record $75.4 million haul.

Online betting was responsible for almost all revenue, with retail contributing just $5,286 in October. As for hold, the state-wide figure for the month stood at 6.46%. Tax-wise, Massachusetts collected $9.7 million from sports betting, almost all of which related to online wagering.

Can anyone stop DraftKings in Massach..

November 20, 2024

Michigan sets $220.7 million gross igaming revenue record in October

Igaming revenue in Michigan reached a record $220.7 million (£174.1 million/€209.0 million) in October, although the Great Lakes state reported a decline within its online sports betting market.

Gross internet gaming and sports betting receipts from commercial and tribal operators in Michigan hit $253.7 million in October. This comfortably surpasses $205.3 million from last year by 23.6% but falls 2.8% short of $261.0 million in September this year.

Total market adjusted gross receipts, which account for promotional spending, hit $208.5 million, according to Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) figures. This beat last year by 24.3% but missed September’s total by 0.7%.

Michigan igaming market hits new heights

The stand-out highlight for October was record igaming revenue, surpassing the existing all-time high of $215.5m in March this year by 2.4%. Gross igaming receipts were also 37.7% higher than last year and 8.9% above September.

Adjusted gross receipts from igaming were 37.7% ..

November 20, 2024

Legal Missouri sports betting might not be a done deal after all

On 5 November and in the days thereafter, it appeared that Missouri voters had approved Amendment 2, which allows for statewide retail and digital sports betting. But with vote tallies still trickling in, it's possible that the measure didn't pass, or at least that a recount could be demanded.

Multiple media outlets and the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) touted Amendment 2’s passage in the week of the presidential election. But according to the Missouri Independent, the results from one county could reverse that.

And even if the amendment is deemed a winner, the vote differential is so slim, a recount could be requested.

Christian County is located in southwest Missouri and is considered a suburb of Springfield. And according to a certified vote tally dated 12 November, 30,320 ballots were “no” on Amendment 2 and 19,955 were “yes”. That’s a difference of 10,365 votes on a constitutional amendment that was said to have won by the slimmest of margins. That official vote tal..

November 19, 2024

Chris Christie has plenty to say about gambling legalisation. But is he right?

New Jersey's former governor spouted off about chances of legalisation in Texas and California last week. But he's way off the mark.

In an interview with Covers about the state of legal gambling in the US last week, the former New Jersey governor revealed that he is out of touch. Although he and his administration spearheaded the lawsuit that resulted in legal sports betting across the US, Christie would be wise to speak of what he knows.

Or as gaming consultant Brendan Bussmann said: “Texas and California are beasts unto their own and have their own political dynamics, which make them their own markets. This isn’t waving pixie dust on everything and making sports betting happen like one former governor seems to think.”

Christie’s comments about California showed clear ignorance about the state of gambling expansion in the biggest state in the nation. And about how gambling politics work there. Not once did he mention California’s tribes, which have exclusivity for gaming..

November 19, 2024

New Jersey igaming revenue record tumbles again in October

New Jersey reported a 2.6% year-on-year increase in gambling revenue during October, driven by another record breaking month for igaming.

Meanwhile, the Garden State’s sportsbook operators showed evidence of player-friendly NFL results hitting performance. Major operators have flagged this as a risk to fourth quarter revenue in their Q3 results.

Total gaming revenue in New Jersey across all channels and verticals was $499.8 million (£394.4 million/€472.5 million) in October. This exceeds last year’s $487.1 million monthly total but falls 10.5% short of $558.3 million in September this year.

Licensees paid $55.0 million in taxes for the month, with internet gaming again the main driver. It contributed $31.9 million to that total from a 15% gross revenue levy. Brick-and-mortar casinos (taxed at 8% of GGR) added a further $13.0 million, with $9.9 million and $194,771 coming from online (13% tax) and retail sports betting (8.5%) respectively.

Igaming revenue surpasses land-based casin..

November 18, 2024

DC attorney general said to be investigating Intralot contract

Intralot's Washington, DC lottery and sports betting contract is the subject of a new investigation from the District's attorney general's office, according to new reporting.

Axios cited anonymous sources today (18 November) in saying that attorney general Brian Schwalb’s office requested more information related to the contract last summer. It is unclear if the investigation centres around Intralot specifically or a subcontractor. Schwalb’s office does have the power to bring civil lawsuits against companies if applicable. But the exact motive of the investigation and timeline are unclear.

Greek-based Intralot has run the DC Lottery since 2009. In 2019 it was also awarded a controversial $215 million (£169.6 million/€203 million), no-bid contract to run online sports betting as well. The platform it rolled out, GambetDC, never lived up to expectations. The app performed extremely poorly, both in terms of usability and revenue projections.

In early March, DC’s Offi..

November 18, 2024

Illinois sports betting revenue reaches record $136.4 million in September

Sports betting revenue in Illinois hit an all-time monthly high of $136.4 million (£108.1m million/€129.4 million) during September, while the Prairie state fell just short of setting a new handle record.

Players spent a total of $1.31 billion betting on sports during September, which marked the NFL season kick-off. This is 21.5% more than September 2023 and 49.2% ahead of August this year. However, it missed the all-time state record – $1.38 billion in November 2023 – by 4.7%.

Online spend for the month amounted to $1.27 billion, with retail handle coming to $34.9 million. The Board said professional sports drew the most bets at $1.12 billion, with college sports at $177.1 million, motor racing $753,685 and other sports $5.3 million.

Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was 58.6% higher than September last year and also 130.4% above August this year. It narrowly surpassed the existing Illinois monthly record – $135.2 million in January this year – by 0.9%.

Figures from the Illinois Gaming..

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Tag: Online sports betting