Happy Monday, everyone. Last week’s sports betting news was heavily skewed toward legislative activities, which should continue into this week as well.
The crew dove into the details on some of the week’s biggest stories on the LSR Podcast.
And unless you follow @LSPReport on Twitter you likely missed some market-changing news out of Illinois that broke during the extended Easter holiday weekend.
Top sports betting news: Still no NY mobile decision
As of Monday morning, there is still no definitive news on whether mobile NY sports betting will be included in the state budget.
The story has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since budget negotiations started. Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, two of the strongest voices in the state supporting mobile betting, were both selected to negotiate terms of mobile sports betting among other issues.
Addabbo was initially confident there was “common ground” between his Senate, the Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s office. After a few weeks of negotiations,, Addabbo called negotiations frustrating last Monday.
Pretlow then signaled mobile betting should likely be included in the budget on Wednesday but cautioned it might look more like Cuomo’s proposal than what he and Addabbo want.
Since Thursday, though, there’s been little news of anything to come from New York.
Goodbye (again) to remote sports betting signup in Illinois
Just like that, the main reason Illinois sports betting is off to such a hot start is gone.
Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t renew the suspension on in-person sports betting registration that’s been a part of his executive orders consistently since August. That meant as of Sunday all sports betting accounts have to be confirmed in-person at a casino before a bet can be placed.
The unexpected inclusion of mobile registration so early into the state’s launch helped push the market to a top-five spot in the US in terms of handle. The state hit a record $581.6 million in handle for January, the most recently reported results from the state.
It’s unclear what happens with remote registration in Illinois next. The rules were originally supposed to allow remote registration when the first mobile-only operator launched, which has not occurred.
That mobile-only license also includes a hefty $20 million fee which might not be as enticing now that the state has already had mobile registration.
Genius Sports wins NFL data rights
Genius Sports won the rights to supply official league data for the NFL through a competitive bid.
The data supplier knocked off incumbent provider Sportradar and others in the process.
Terms of the deal were not released. CNBC reported the deal is for four years and includes cash and equity.
Legislative recap: GA, KS, OH, VA, WY
Some legislatures succeeded in their sports betting hopes this year while others saw outside issues steal the show:
- Sports betting in Georgia failed to pass this session after Democrats and Republicans hit an impasse after a controversial bill limiting voter rights was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
- There might not be enough time left in Kansas‘ legislative session to iron out the issues and legalize KS sports betting this year.
- The fight to legalize sports betting in Ohio, meanwhile, is just getting started in earnest. The Senate committee tasked with hearing sports betting testimony wrapped up those hearings last week. A bill is expected later this month.
- Last year’s legislation that legalized sports betting in Virginia wasn’t quite right. A bill to correct those issues, including exempting sports betting licenses held by casinos from the market cap of 12 mobile-only books, was recently signed into law.
- Wyoming could join South Dakota as the second state to legalize sports betting this year. The bill is awaiting a signature from Gov. Mark Gordon.
Virginia shines in first full month
Virginia had a strong first full month of sports betting despite multiple licenses still waiting to be awarded.
Customer acquisition pushes around the Super Bowl no doubt helped the state’s operators take $265.8 million in bets during February. That was after the first 11 days of the market brought in $58 million in bets.
Virginia, like most other states, should see an uptick in activity from March Madness betting as well.
Issues in Tennessee continues with a different sportsbook
The Tennessee Education Lottery is now dealing with compliance issues from two sportsbooks.
William Hill allegedly booked college player prop bets, which aren’t allowed under TN sports betting law. The TEL said the incident is under review.
A request for an update on both the William Hill and Action 24/7 investigations went unreturned over the weekend.
