Happy football season, guys and gals!
College football kicked off with a flourish this past weekend, ushering in the annual busy stretch for sports betting. Regulated sportsbooks in 11 US states are taking bets as the season begins, up from five last year (and, of course, just one a year prior.) That list will continue to grow in 2019, as a few more jurisdictions inch out onto the diving board.
While Indiana and Oregon are among those approaching launch, one eastern state is still working to rebuild from the ashes of a regulatory and operational failure. As we did last week, we’ll start in the Mountain State, but with some encouraging news this time around.
West Virginia going mobile again
Most of our recent writings concern West Virginia, where online sports betting has been offline since March.
Last week, we dove deep into the legal dispute among three companies that once worked together to build the BetLucky brand. Each blames the others for the platform’s death, and it’ll be up to judges in two countries to weigh the merits of each case.
All hope is not lost, though. Both DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook are approved for launch, and rumor has it both will enter the market this week.
It sure looks like it’s happening this time, but we’ll believe it when we finally get a bet down.
DraftKings and Kambi strengthen ties
Perhaps the week’s biggest news centered on Kambi, supplier and partner to several US sports betting operators. Hot on the heels of its blockbuster deal with Penn National Gaming, Kambi last week announced an expanded relationship with DraftKings.
The expansion builds upon what the two companies have established in New Jersey, adding another eight states to their list of allied jurisdictions. There are some key markets included (New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana), along with aforementioned West Virginia.
It’s not clear what the enhanced deal means for DraftKings’ rumored interest in competing supplier SBTech. Whether or not something is still in the works between those two, Kambi certainly provides a more immediate — albeit third-party reliant — path to launch in new markets.
Takes and tidbits
A few other quickies worth noting:
- FanDuel crystal ball: In the “takes” category, Dustin Gouker offered some thoughts on the Pennsylvania prospects for FanDuel Sportsbook. The past and present paint a pretty favorable forecast for New Jersey’s market leader.
- NFL betting guide: Our sister site TheLines is a bettor-centric space that provides news and strategy content for both DFS and sports betting. Click that link back there for the Week 1 betting guide.
- $10 billion: We’re still waiting for a couple of reports from July, but it’s plain to see that regulated sportsbooks are doing brisk business. Once Nevada and Rhode Island come in, the data will show more than $10 billion in total US wagers through the first 13 months of expanded US betting.
That’s it. Told you we’d keep it short. Follow @LSPReport on Twitter. Have a good week. Bye.
