Happy Monday, everyone. Sports betting news continues to be heavily focused on the legislative side, with plenty of states working to join the race.
The LSR Podcast breaks down some of that news, including a big future market in California.
Keep checking @LSPReport on Twitter for the latest breaking sports betting news.
Top sports betting news: Canada closer to single-game betting
A bill that would end the federal prohibition on single-game sports betting in Canada passed a Senate committee Friday.
That puts the next step as a full Senate committee hearing this week. If the bill continues to move at this pace, it would be possible to launch single-game betting by early September, according to Canadian Gaming Association CEO Paul Burns.
US sports betting companies are preparing for the launch. PointsBet hired former Monkey Knife Fight president Nic Sulsky to lead the company’s Canadian expansion while BetMGM signed the Great One as an ambassador.
Arizona, Louisiana sports betting on track for fall launches
Arizona and Louisiana are racing to launch their new sports betting markets in time for NFL betting season.
Implementation bills are working their way through the Louisiana legislature swiftly. Rep. John Stefanski told LSR he is more optimistic about LA sports betting launching during football season, especially since regulators have the opportunity to offer provisional licenses.
Elsewhere, the Arizona Department of Gaming announced Sept. 9 as its target launch date. That means AZ sports betting will be live just in time for the NFL season kickoff later that Thursday night.
IL House passes annoying in-state college bill
It is illegal to bet on Illinois college teams at Illinois sportsbooks under the state’s sports betting law.
A new bill would change that, but it’s unclear yet if people will really care.
SB 521 passed the House last week. It essentially creates a trial period for betting on in-state colleges until July 2023. The bill makes it difficult to bet on those teams, though, since it only extends in-state college betting to retail sportsbooks.
The bill creates another pointless in-person requirement after Gov. JB Pritzker recently ended his emergency exemption allowing remote registration.
Another suboptimal sports betting bill became law last week with Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts signing the state’s retail-only bill into law.
More mobile NY sports betting questions answered
More answers about mobile sports betting in New York were answered by the regulator, though there are still plenty of unknowns.
The New York State Gaming Commission updated its Q&A concerning the upcoming bid for mobile sports betting licenses.
New information included confirming a platform provider could be selected for multiple licenses and would be on the hook for $25 million each time. The NYSGC also said the bidders will likely be public through Freedom of Information laws.
Still unknown at this point is how the bids will be scored. The deadline to announce the RFP requirements is July 1.
VA sportsbooks not immune to April dip
Virginia might be a surging new sports betting market, but even VA sportsbooks can’t escape the post-March Madness dropoff.
The state’s mobile sportsbooks took $236.4 million in bets in April, down 22% from March.
Naturally, promotions also dropped month-over-month to $5.5 million in April from $10.3 million in March.
