Happy Monday, everyone. Sports betting news was a bit slower in terms of volume last week but there was still plenty of big action.
The LSR Podcast breaks down a handful of those topics, including the biggest surprise of December so far: the Ohio legislature actually passing a sports betting bill.
Gov. Mike DeWine has not yet signed HB 29, which will legalize both retail and online Ohio sportsbooks. Make sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter to find out exactly when that and other breaking news happen.
Top sports betting news this week: What about New York?
It’s been more than a month since the New York State Gaming Commission handed out temporary mobile NY sports betting licenses. We still know nothing official on when the first operator might launch.
Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. requested the regulator consider a single start date for whichever operators are ready. The NYSGC has not yet met in December to consider the request. The typical meeting date of the fourth Monday of the month falls on the 27th but an earlier date was contemplated at the end of November’s meeting.
Under current rules, an operator can launch when it is ready with servers in place at a commercial casino.
Could New Jersey hit another handle record?
NJ sportsbooks hit handle records of more than $1 billion in September and October. If the market trends fall in line with Indiana and Iowa, it would report record handle for a third straight month Thursday.
Handle at Indiana sportsbooks hit $463.7 million, just topping the $461.1 million record from October. Iowa sportsbooks hit $287.2 million to top the $280.9 million bet in October.
Those increases are significant because October had five full Friday through Sunday weekends while November had just four. That means those records come despite one full day fewer of both NFL betting and college football betting
New Jersey hit $1.303 billion in October handle to set another new monthly record for a single US jurisdiction.
Vote on Chicago sports betting coming?
A vote in favor of sports betting at Chicago sports stadia could come as soon as Monday afternoon, according to WTTW-TV.
That report comes after debate in the city council over whether the stadia would pay enough. Budget Committee Chairwoman Pat Dowell said the city’s 2% tax on gross sports betting revenue seems “really paltry,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times.
That 2% is actually part of a cumulative 19% tax those five stadiums would pay. They’re also on the hook for the 15% state tax and a 2% Cook County tax if they open a sportsbook. Access also includes five blocks of mobile operation for the price of $10 million a license.
Elsewhere, Illinois sports betting continues to hit impressive heights even with in-person registration back in place since April. Handle reached a record $840.4 million in October to push US sports betting past $7 billion in total bets for the month.
Maryland sports betting goes live
Retail sports betting is up and running in Maryland, as three casinos took their first bets last week.
The BetMGM Sportsbook at MGM National Harbor took the state’s first bet Thursday. Caesars Sportsbook at Horseshoe Baltimore and the FanDuel Sportsbook at Live! both opened Friday.
Two more MD sports betting retail licensees, Long Shot’s and Riverboat-on-the-Potomac, were approved by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission last Wednesday.
Riverboat partner PointsBet also made news, as it signed a partnership with the University of Maryland‘s athletics program. It is the third deal signed with a university’s athletic program following the University of Colorado agreement from last September.