Happy Monday, everyone. There is plenty of sports betting news to recap, but first, some congratulations are in order.
Those go out to anyone who ever has contributed to the LSR Podcast, which hit its 100th episode. The podcast serves as a companion to all of the stories posted on LSR each week so check it out if you haven’t already.
Also be sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter to stay on top of all the pending legislative action plus breaking news out of key states.
Top sports betting news: Louisiana legislature gets working
Sports betting in Louisiana was approved by voters half a year ago through a referendum. Thanks to a legislature that starts in April, discussions on how the market should look are just starting.
A bill that deals with taxation, which has to come through separate legislation than the enabling sports betting laws, passed a House committee. The taxation bill, partnered with SB 202, would tax that bill’s physical sportsbooks at 10% and its mobile sportsbooks at 18%. Each of the 20 licensees would get two mobile skins.
Both South Dakota and Maryland, the other two states to see sports betting approved via referendum last year, already passed their bills. Gov. Kristi Noem signed SD sports betting into law last month. MD sports betting bill HB 940 still needs to be signed by Gov. Larry Hogan.
Other state news: CT, FL, IL, NE, NY
Plenty of other states are working to either establish or fine-tune their sports betting markets:
- There were 15 sports betting companies interested in partnering with the Connecticut Lottery for the final CT sports betting skin. The Lottery plans to pick a partner in two weeks.
- Sports betting in Florida is not guaranteed just because Gov. Ron DeSantis finally has a deal with the Seminole Indians.
- Industry representatives argued for the end of in-person registration for sports betting in Illinois. That was met with hesitancy from some state reps who believe in-person registration benefits land-based casinos.
- Nebraska sports betting looks like it is coming, but not on mobile. A bill that would allow betting at licensed horse tracks is on the agenda for a final vote in Nebraska’s one-house legislature.
- New York gaming regulators tried to fill in the gaps of the mobile NY sports betting language, including what exactly a platform provider must do. New York could still face tribal issues with its sports betting plans as well.
States see sports betting bump in March
Sports betting handle in the US since the fall of PASPA passed the $50 billion mark in March, in part thanks to March Madness betting.
None of the states that reported handle last week broke out tournament betting, but the three biggest all saw growth compared to their February handle.
Nevada sports betting had its third-best month ever with $641 million in handle. The young Tennessee sports betting market had its second-best month since its November launch with $205.9 million bet in March.
Sports betting in Colorado, which celebrated its one-year anniversary Saturday, passed $2 billion in handle last month.
FanDuel Sportsbook, Genius report results
FanDuel Sportsbook added 900,000 new customers in the US from January 1 through March 31, the company reported in a trading update.
FanDuel parent company Flutter also said it would not consider Fox Bet and PokerStars in a potential US IPO for FanDuel. Fox and Flutter are in the middle of a dispute over a valuation on an 18.6% stake Fox has a right to buy from Flutter.
Elsewhere, data supplier Genius Sports reported 30% revenue growth last year to $150 million and flipped EBITDA to a positive $17.5 million.
Those financial details should look much different a year from now considering Genius’ recent data deal with the NFL.
Fantasy still attracting investment
Underdog Fantasy has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round.
Investors included Mark Cuban, Adam Schefter and former Paddy Power Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran, among others.
The company, founded by the former DRAFT team, is also offering the largest ever NFL best ball tournament, with $1,000,001 to first place.
