The state of Rhode Island added another project to Bally’s plate that could distract from its sports betting issues.
Gov. Daniel McKee signed SB948 into law last week, approving Bally’s to launch online casino in Rhode Island.
It comes at a time when Bally’s has a lot on its plate, including a new casino in Chicago and the relaunch of sports betting brand Bally Bet.
Sports betting shut down for now
Bally’s made the unexpected move to shut down Bally Bet for months while it transitions to new tech provider Kambi.
That work will now run side-by-side with creating an iGaming platform in Rhode Island that can launch after March 1, 2024.
Both projects come as Bally’s works to open a temporary casino in Chicago by the end of the summer for its $1.7 billion permanent casino by 2026.
First legal sports bets in Nebraska
Sports betting in Nebraska is underway as of Thursday but in a limited fashion.
There is only in-person sports betting available at the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln, operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
Along with no online betting, there are other limitations to getting down a bet at WarHorse. The book only accepts cash wagers and does not allow betting on college games played within the state. That means betting on Nebraska Cornhuskers games is only allowed when they are out of state.
WarHorse is about a one-hour drive from Omaha, which is also on the border of legal betting state Iowa. A sportsbook could be coming to Omaha within weeks, the CEO of the Nebraska Horsemen told the Omaha World-Herald.
WynnBET launches sports betting, iGaming in WV
WynnBET went live in its 11th state with sports betting and iGaming launches in West Virginia.
It is the third state where WynnBET operates online casino, following Michigan and New Jersey.
GENI expands Football DataCo partnership
Genius Sports extended its partnership with Football DataCo to be the exclusive low-latency live data supplier of the English Premier League, English Football League and the Scottish Professional Football League.
The new deal, which runs through the 2024-25 season, includes AI-powered tracking systems for Sky Bet EFL Championship and Championship Play-Off matches that will capture positional data on all players, officials and the ball. It is the same technology launched for the Premier League in 2020.
Genius has been the exclusive distributor of low-latency official data for more than 4,000 UK soccer matches per season since 2019.
Ontario fines two for offering prohibited bets
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario fined both BetVictor and Fitzdares sportsbooks C$15,000 for taking bets on ineligible minor league hockey.
Both Ontario sportsbooks offered bets on the three leagues of the Canadian Hockey League: the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
