Gambling in the USA
Awaiting Supreme Court decision on gambling, pro sports leagues prepare for legal betting
Across Florida and Arizona, professional baseball teams are prepping for the inevitable surprises of a 162-game season. Players and coaches use spring training to limit the unknown variables, and this year so is Major League Baseball.
By the season’s midpoint, fans in certain states might be able to place legal bets on baseball games, and MLB officials knew they couldn’t afford to wait to start preparing. So players from every team are getting an enhanced education this spring on sports gambling, as are coaches and umpires.
Some time before July — perhaps as early as Tuesday — the Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling that could drastically alter sports gambling in the United States, possibly striking down the 25-year-old federal law that largely prohibits sports bets outside of Nevada or maybe allowing individual states to decide for themselves whether fans should be permitted to wager on games.
“We’re realistic that sports betting in all likelihood is going to expand in the United States,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on a conference call with reporters last week.
The four major U.S. sports leagues have been bracing for all possibilities, both ready and in some cases eager for the new world that could be waiting on the other side of the court’s decision. To varying degrees, the leagues have been educating players, have started studying analytics that monitor betting data and have researched the partnerships and business opportunities that surely will open new revenue streams.
While the leagues historically have considered sports betting a serious threat to business and banded together a quarter-century ago to encourage Congress to pass the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, some attitudes have changed. Manfred recently said sports gambling “can be a form of fan engagement; it can fuel the popularity of a sport. We all understand that.”
While the Supreme Court could opt to maintain the status quo, many sports gambling analysts and court-watchers anticipate a ruling that lays out some sort of path to legal sports wagering. At oral arguments in December, a majority of justices seemed receptive to New Jersey’s argument.
While the NFL and NHL have been less public or vocal about their planning, the NBA and MLB have teamed together and have been actively lobbying state legislatures, helping them craft bills that address their myriad concerns. At least 18 state legislatures have some form of legislation in the works in anticipation of the Supreme Court giving them a path to legalized sports betting, and NBA and MLB officials have been crisscrossing the country to share their preferred model.
“We were happy to sit with legislators and look at the economics and talk about what is the best system,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters during last month’s All-Star Weekend.
According to research by UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research, legal sports betting in Las Vegas has nearly doubled in the past decade, totaling nearly $5 billion. Football, both college and professional, accounted for $1.76 billion of that last year, followed by basketball at $1.5 billion and baseball at $1.14 billion. Experts estimate that illegal betting in the U.S. is significantly higher, likely topping $100 billion.
The NBA has been particularly aggressive in this space and last year promoted an executive to the newly created position of “vice president, head of fantasy and gaming.” Dan Spillane, the NBA’s senior vice president and assistant general counsel, told a New York state Senate committee that legalized sports wagering will require leagues to do more — “more in compliance and enforcement, including bet monitoring, investigations and education.”
“We have studied these issues at length,” Spillane told the committee. “Our conclusion is that the time has come for a different approach that gives sports fans a safe and legal way to wager on sporting events while protecting the integrity of the underlying competitions.”
The model encouraged by the NBA and MLB goes further than simply opening betting windows, building in safeguards and potentially discovering a big revenue stream for the leagues. They’ve been lobbying states to encourage consumer protection requirements, such as a licensing program and measures to address problem gambling; authorizing betting on the Internet and mobile platforms that might further discourage illegal channels; allowing leagues to restrict the types of bets permitted (for example, not offering a line on whether a player will commit the first foul of a game or whether the first pitch of a game is a ball or strike); and urging sports books to share betting data that might identify unusual activity.
“One of the primary benefits of a regulated sports betting industry would be increased transparency into what is currently a black box: the betting data in the illegal market,” Bryan Seeley, MLB’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel, told the Kansas legislature last week. “This would provide access to billions of points of data, which could be aggregated, analyzed and acted upon in real time to protect games from outside influences.”
Perhaps most notably, under their proposal, each league would receive 1 percent of every dollar wagered on its games. Silver likens this to an “integrity fee,” or a “royalty to the league.”
“I would only say, from the NBA’s standpoint, we will spend this year roughly $7.5 billion creating this content, creating these games,” he said. “Those are total expenses for the season. So this notion that as the intellectual property creators that we should receive a 1 percent fee seems very fair to me.”
He also noted that the leagues will take on added expenses, in monitoring data, providing education and possibly conducting investigations and enforcement. While the leagues have implied that 1 percent figure is negotiable, others have expressed concern that the fee could backfire. Geoff Freeman, the president of the American Gaming Association, said unlike others types of gambling, sports betting is a low-margin business, and even 1 percent could cost a sportsbook 20 percent of its revenue. The net result could be bookmakers installing tighter odds that aren’t competitive with what’s offered on the illegal market.
“This isn’t slot machines, where you can put a tax rate of 50-plus percent and still make money,” Freeman said.
While legalized sports betting surely will open up new partnerships, sponsorships and business opportunities – for starters, DraftKings already has announced its intention to take sports bets if the federal law is struck down entirely – the leagues would stand to reap huge revenue from any states that ultimately agree to kick back any portion of its sports wagering money. Since the leagues are the ones that assume the risk, MLB’s Seeley told the Kansas legislature, they’re the ones that must protect themselves — “as the damage from even a hint of scandal will hurt the sports leagues far worse than anyone else.”
Less vocal, the NFL and NHL have studied many of the same issues. The NHL added an expansion franchise in Las Vegas this season, and the NFL’s Oakland Raiders are relocating there as early as next year. Both moves prompted league officials to weigh all the implications and potential consequences of doing business in the gambling capital of the United States. Neither league is committed publicly to any new measures based on the Supreme Court’s pending decision.
“We all will be guided by what the Supreme Court ultimately decides,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement to The Washington Post. “Things won’t change immediately or overnight. We will digest the opinion and make adjustments to our existing policies as necessary.”
The NFL consistently has expressed reservations about legalizing sports wagering.
“Regardless of the outcome, we will maintain our relentless focus on protecting the integrity of the game and ensure there are no improper influences affecting how the game is played on the field,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “If there are changes, we will work with regulators, operators, the clubs, players and others to ensure that our fans and the game and the people who play, coach, and officiate it are protected.”
Whatever happens after the Supreme Court ruling, it could happen quickly. Monmouth Park in New Jersey already has a sportsbook facility ready to go, though the state may have to tweak its legislation further before bets start coming in. Pennsylvania has signed legislation into law in anticipation of legalizing sports wagering. In West Virginia, a bill has already passed both chambers, and states such as New York and Indiana are poised to move quickly on their bills. Other states – such as Maryland, which is considering a bill that calls for a voter referendum – would have several more steps to navigate.
“It’s not as simple as signing a bill, and then you have a sports betting industry,” said Chris Grove, managing director at Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, a gambling research firm. “A lot more has to happen before licensed operators can start taking sports bets.”
Even if the Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t drastically alter sports gambling in the United States immediately, those who’ve been monitoring the issue say the national dialogue has progressed – and leagues, fans and lawmakers have to continue taking steps to prepare for the day that sports betting is legalized.
“Sports betting happens,” Manfred said at a recent economic forum in New York. “Whether it’s legalized here or not, it’s happening out there. So I think the question for sports is really: ‘Are we better off in a world where we have a nice, strong, uniform, federal regulation of gambling that protects the integrity of sports, provides sports with the tools to ensure that there is integrity in the competition? … Or are we better off closing our eyes to that and letting it go on as illegal gambling?’ “
Source: chicagotribune.com
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
Caesars Entertainment announced that the Caesars Sportsbook Mississippi app is accepting mobile sports bets at Harrah’s Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi. Sports fans 21 and older who are interested in wagering on sports via mobile devices can download the Caesars Sportsbook Mississippi app to register and deposit statewide but must be physically present on-property at Harrah’s Gulf Coast to wager.
The Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has announced that FanDuel’s sports betting app and website has officially launched. This development will introduce FanDuel’s sports wagering platform to District residents and visitors, completely replacing the current GambetDC sports betting app and website.
eCOGRA has been officially authorised by the Secretaria De Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) to operate as a certifying entity for betting systems, live gaming studios and online games in Brazil. This announcement marks a significant milestone as eCOGRA continues to extend its international offering of iGaming testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services in regulated markets across the globe.
Jennifer Shatley, a recognised expert in the field and a highly sought speaker and advisor, has joined the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) as Executive Director. Shatley has had 25+ years worth of experience, working closely with the treatment community, academics, researchers, government bodies, state councils and gaming industry representatives to promote responsible gaming.
Odditt, a leading provider of innovative sports betting data, tools and analytics, has appointed Elaine Milardo as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With over 25 years of experience in the data industry and key roles at DraftKings and Vistaprint, Elaine brings a wealth of expertise to Odditt’s growing team.
Partnerships
Trustly, the global leader in Open Banking Payments, and Light & Wonder, the leading cross-platform global games company, are bringing cashless, in-person deposits to casino floors with Light & Wonder’s cashless solution, RAPIDPLAY. Building on Trustly’s success with guaranteed payments in online sports betting and iGaming, Trustly will deliver the same seamless, quick and secure online payment experience to the physical casino floor.
Fintech company Sightline has entered into an exclusive partnership with compliance and anti-fraud technology solutions leader GeoComply to bolster the security and efficiency of digital transactions within the regulated gaming industry. Sightline will integrate GeoComply’s cutting-edge IDComply identity verification solution as well as GeoComply’s compliance-grade geolocation tools across its comprehensive suite of digital payment solutions for land-based casinos and online gaming operators.
BetMGM has announced a partnership with GameCode, a distinguished iGaming company focused on the North American market. The partnership includes the launch of Boom Boom Boom, HammerCash, Gold Gold Gold and Super3 series which are now live at BetMGM in Michigan and New Jersey through direct integration. BetMGM plans to offer GameCode’s full portfolio of games in all jurisdictions where the operator’s iGaming platform is live pending regulatory approvals.
SCCG Management has announced a joint venture investment with Numb3rs, an innovative all-in-one payment solution provider built for gaming operators. The partnership aims to transform the gaming sector by integrating Numb3rs’ proprietary tech stack, ECRYPT, into the marketplace, thereby offering a comprehensive suite of payment processing solutions.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
FanDuel Group, the premier online gaming company in North America and an Official Partner of Churchill Downs Inc., announced five time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan and Grammy award-winning R&B singer Ne-Yo as the headlining performers at FanDuel’s inaugural Kentucky Derby Party. The exclusive, invite-only event will take place on Friday, May 3 at Paristown Arts and Entertainment District in Louisville, Kentucky from 7:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
TPI, a leading provider of innovative player communication solutions for the casino industry, has appointed Joe Tingson as its new Vice President of Customer Success. With his unparalleled dedication to his customers, Joe will play a pivotal role as a leader for our digital Customer Success and Product teams.
PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, has announced plans for its new 33,000 square foot Atlanta Headquarters, which will be located in the Star Metals Building in Midtown Atlanta. The company plans to grow its workforce by 1000 new jobs over the next seven years, the economic impact of which will be $25M to the state of Georgia.
Century Casinos Inc. has announced that it opened its hotel in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, The Riverview. The Riverview is a 69 room, six-story building with 68,000 square feet that is adjacent to and connected with Century Casino Cape Girardeau. The project cost $30.5 million and was financed with cash on hand.
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has announced the opening of Terre Haute Casino Resort in Terre Haute, Indiana. The $290 million investment includes a casino floor with 1000 slot machines, 36 table games, and a state-of-the-art sportsbook. The 400,000-square-foot entertainment venue also features regionally inspired bars and restaurants including: Four Cornered Steakhouse, Rockwood Bar & Grill, The Soda Shoppe, Crossroads Center Bar and High Limit Bar.
Bragg Gaming Group Inc., a global B2B gaming technology and content provider, announced that Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ronen Kannor, has notified Bragg’s board of directors (Board) that he will resign from his position to pursue other career opportunities, effective June 3, 2024. The Company confirms that the search for a replacement CFO has commenced.
Partnerships
EQL Games has partnered with global aggregation leader and NeoGames company, Pariplay, to provide the Virginia Lottery, through an agreement with NeoPollard Interactive, with a series of eInstant iLottery games for their industry-leading digital platform.
JACK Entertainment LLC announced the selection of Konami Gaming Inc.’s SYNKROS to power industry-leading systems technology across its 1.5 million square feet of casino entertainment space. The Ohio-based gaming operator’s portfolio includes a combined 2600+ gaming machines and 85 table games at JACK Cleveland Casino in downtown Cleveland, and at JACK Thistledown Racino, located approximately 10 miles to the southeast.
PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced that the company has reunited with the Atlanta Braves as the club’s Official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner for the 2024 season. The partnership extends a longstanding relationship that dates back to 2020, with the two Atlanta-based companies continuing to work together on unique opportunities for their dedicated fans.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that it will showcase its performance-focused portfolio of games and solutions for tribal casinos at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (IGA) 2024, April 9-11 in Anaheim, Calif. Under the theme “We’ve Got Game,” IGT’s booth #536 will feature a compelling array of gaming solutions designed to engage players and drive growth.
Caesars Sportsbook announced its receipt of the prestigious RG Check accreditation from the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC). The certification includes an assessment of Caesars Sportsbook’s commitment to Responsible Gaming, including areas such as player and Team Member education, public awareness advertisements and funding for organisations dedicated to Responsible Gaming research, awareness and education.
Veriff, a global identity verification (IDV) provider, announced the appointment of Jeffrey Guy as President and COO. Jeffrey brings a wealth of leadership experience at technology companies in driving profitable growth and expanding product portfolio. Before Veriff, he was Chief Operating Officer at DigitalOcean, a publicly traded cloud computing platform provider.
GAN Limited announced that Mr. Brian Chang has recently been named the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Chang had previously been serving in an interim capacity. Mr. Chang will be focused on guiding the Company towards a timely closing with Sega Sammy Creation Inc. (Sega Sammy).
Partnerships
The Commerce Casino & Hotel, home to the largest poker room in the world, has announced an exciting partnership with the richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series – the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This collaboration signifies a pivotal moment for the poker community, bringing together two powerhouses to elevate the poker experience for players and fans worldwide.
BetRivers, powered by Rush Street Interactive, a leading US-based online betting and gaming company, has announced its partnership as the title sponsor for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race at Dover Motor Speedway. The BetRivers 200, set for Saturday, April 27, is being undertaken with the Delaware Lottery and marks the beginning of a thrilling new chapter in NASCAR history, as RSI commits to the long-term support of this top tier sporting event.
Elys BMG Group Inc., an interactive gaming and sports betting technology company, announced the completion of its sportsbook installation at The Ugly Mug restaurant and bar situated at 723 8th St SE, in Washington, DC. This collaboration underscores Elys’ commitment to providing unparalleled sports wagering experiences for small and local businesses across America.
SCCG Management has announced a strategic partnership with mkodo, a leading technology provider in the iGaming space. This collaboration is set to distribute mkodo’s innovative geolocation product, GeoLocs and other leading solutions across the US and key global markets, including Brazil, leveraging SCCG’s robust market presence and industry expertise.
Prove Identity Inc. announced a strategic partnership with BetMGM, a sports betting and iGaming leader, to enhance the security and user experience for BetMGM customers through the cutting-edge Prove Pre-Fill identity solution. Prove Pre-Fill accelerates digital consumer onboarding by up to 79% and is used by more than 1000 businesses globally across diversified industries, including 9 of the top 10 banks.
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