Happy Monday, folks. It is the middle of summer yet there’s no shortage of sports betting news, with last week one of the busiest at LSR this year.
There are still some huge stories in the works that will shape important US sports betting markets for years to come, which the team broke down on the latest LSR Podcast.
This week will not be much different with plenty of important happenings on the schedule. Make sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter to keep up with all of the most important stories.
Top upcoming sports betting news: Ball in MA Senate’s court
The Massachusetts House once again passed sports betting out of the chamber last week, leaving the next steps to the Senate.
The House came together for a 156-3 vote, the same tally by which the House passed an economic development bill last year that would have legalized MA sports betting. The amended H 3977 was republished as H 3993 to incorporate the changes.
It is now on the shoulders of the Senate, which is using S 269 from Sen. Eric Lesser as its vehicle. Lesser’s bill has not changed since it was introduced in March, though, and has some inconsistencies with the House’s proposal. No hearing for S 269 has been announced yet.
Should the Senate pass S 269 as amended, a conference committee will be required to find a compromise.
Two important calls from Oz on tap
There are two sports betting conference calls worth keeping an eye on this week:
- PointsBet will report its fiscal 2021 results Wednesday. The company has been plenty busy in recent months building out its Canadian sports betting team. PointsBet also announced last week it grabbed market access for sports betting in Arizona as well. (Speaking of Arizona, the final set of proposed regulations for the market went live Wednesday. Barstool Sportsbook also announced AZ access last week.)
- BlueBet might not be well-known in the US yet, but the Australian-listed sportsbook operator is hoping to replicate PointsBet’s path. The company will hold a conference call Thursday with investors most likely listening for details on the company’s US future more than anything else. Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia are considered priority states for BlueBet.
Nevada sports betting numbers incoming
Nevada‘s gaming results for June will be released this week. Handle rose 4.9% in May from April.
Virginia could also report its June results this week. Handle was preliminarily announced at $234.9 million at a Virginia Lottery meeting last week.
That same meeting also included data that showed FanDuel Sportsbook remains the favorite out of the seven online Virginia sportsbooks with 49.5% of all handle since launch.
Last week’s top sports betting news
Take a look back at some of the top stories from last week:
- The RFA process for mobile New York sportsbooks moved forward last week as the state’s gaming regulators posted a 29-page Q&A. This was the first of two opportunities for hopeful platform providers and operators to seek clarifications on the RFA.
- Sports betting platform provider Kambi‘s stock took a 10% hit Friday after the company said DraftKings Sportsbook transitioned from its platform in all but New York and Virginia in its earnings presentation.
- Elys Game Technologies Chairman Mike Ciavarella told LSR the story of how the acquisition of US Bookmaking came to be. Elys bought the operator for $12 million up front and a potential $41.8 million in earnouts.
- Several states reported June results last week. Pennsylvania sportsbooks reported a handle dip of 6%, though revenue jumped 15%. The DC sports betting market saw its second commercial operator launch last month in BetMGM, though William Hill is still the clear favorite for now with 80.4% of total handle for the month.
- Rules for sports betting in South Dakota should be approved Aug. 2 with a launch still planned in time for the start of the NFL season.
- Anyone wanting to bet at legal Maine sportsbooks will have to wait at least another year as the session ended without a bill passed.
- Bally’s bought a professional volleyball league with the intention of driving traffic to its Bally Bet platform.
- An estimated 20.1 million Americans will bet on this year’s Olympics, per the American Gaming Association.
Press release roundup
- DraftKings announced it is launching an NFT exchange and is now the official betting operator of two golf tournaments.
- PointsBet launched its online casino in New Jersey.
- IGT will power retail sports betting at the Ute Mountain casino in Colorado with self-service kiosks and its PlaySports platform.
- Data supplier Genius Sports expanded its board to nine with the addition of Kimberly Williams-Bradley.
