The Week In Sports Betting News: Will Lawsuit Delay AZ Launch?


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Happy Monday, everyone. Last week ended with a bit of surprising sports betting news, but more on that in a minute.

The latest edition of the LSR Podcast talked about a few big topics including the upcoming launch of sports betting in Arizona. But late in the week two lawsuits were filed that could potentially derail those plans.

Make sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter as we keep up with the story.

Top sports betting news: Is AZ in jeopardy?

The Arizona Department of Gaming announced 18 AZ sportsbook licenees that can launch Sept. 9, the same day the NFL regular season starts.

Fifteen of the 18 have publicly announced their sportsbook partners already. Account sign-ups started over the weekend, as did the state’s legal DFS market.

Whether those operators will have legal clearance to launch is a different story, though. Two lawsuits from the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and Turf Paradise could lead to injunctions that keep the market on hold.

Colorado, Virginia sports betting results expected

Colorado and Virginia should be the next two states to report their July sports betting results, which have been down compared to June across the board because of a slower sports schedule.

Virginia posts numbers around the first of the month while Colorado already missed its typical release window around the 25th.

Nevada sportsbooks reported their best July ever, but handle was still down 24.8% from June. Sports betting revenue was actually up 14% to $33.3 million thanks to strong hold on baseball and a Conor McGregor loss.

So far, 16 US sports betting jurisdictions have reported July results. Handle is down 23.7% while revenue is down 20.5% from June.

Last week’s top news: Maryland moves forward

Maryland sportsbooks will not be launching for the start of the NFL season like in Arizona, but launch is closer after last week.

The industry’s regulations were finally published in the Maryland Register. That starts a 30-day public commentary period. Regulators will hold a meeting with public commentary Sept. 22.

Multiple casino operators signaled their excitement for sports betting to launch during last week’s regulatory meeting.

DraftKings Sportsbook coming to Oregon

The Oregon Lottery Commission approved a switch for its sportsbook app from SBTech-powered Scoreboard to the DraftKings Sportsbook app.

The switch should create an overall better experience for sports betting in Oregon, Lottery Director Barry Pack told the commission. Notably, negotiations on the contract are not yet completed so there is no timeline for the switch.

DraftKings stopped accepting DFS entries from the state in July as part of those negotiations.

Other top stories at LSR last week

Press release roundup