SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
The Worldwide Leader In Sports Betting? ESPN Branding Deal Could Be Game-Changer, But Multiple Hurdles Need To Be Cleared
Will the Mouse House open its doors to sports betting?
As commuters jaunted off to the beach Friday for an early start to the weekend, reports surfaced that ESPN could jump headfirst into the burgeoning U.S. sports betting market. Although such a move has been considered a practical inevitability for several years, the news produced immediate shockwaves on social media hours before the start of the college football season.
Full story here.
BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel To Run California Sports Betting Initiative
The nation’s three biggest sports betting operators are banding together to take the lead on running another referendum on a November 2022 ballot — this one in California, which, with a population approaching 40 million, will likely be the biggest sports betting state by handle in America.
If enough signatures are gathered to place it before voters, the initiative would be the third on the mid-term ballot. So far, only one has been approved to be offered: a tribal initiative that would legalize retail wagering only at tribal casinos and four horse racetracks. Earlier this month, a group of cities joined the California Attorney General’s Office to file an initiative that would legalize statewide mobile wagering.
Full story here.
On Eve Of ‘21 NFL Kickoff, The 21 Biggest US Sports Betting Developments Of Past Year
The biggest U.S. sports betting story of 2020 up until the relatively smooth-running 2020 NFL season (with apologies to Denver Broncos quarterbacks and Pittsburgh Steelers nation) was how the industry would withstand the challenge of operating a sportsbooks in a climate with … no sports. Or only a smattering of table tennis contests, a celebrity golf challenge, UFC events on an island in United Arab Emirates, and mass heaps of uncertainty and creative crisis management.
Full story here.
WSOP Avoids Mask Chaos With Decision To Require Vaccination Proof
The World Series of Poker, an entity owned by Caesars Entertainment, announced that it will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for its upcoming fall poker tournament series.
The requirement, which also applies to international players, was met with mixed reviews, but anecdotally it seems the majority of people welcomed the news. Earlier this month, in a move that helped clarify things for the WSOP and all other events in Las Vegas, the state of Nevada announced that indoor events requiring proof of vaccination would not need to require masks.
Full story here.
Arizona Regulator Gives, Then Takes Away Tribal License
On the same day the Arizona Department of Gaming announced it had approved 18 event wagering operator applicants, it took away a tribal license it had issued earlier in the week. The move effectively shuts out Australian-based PointsBet from the biggest Western market to legalize sports betting since the fall of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018.
According to a Monday press release, Yavapai-Apache Nation representatives are still scratching their heads as to why Cliff Castle Casino was awarded a license only to have it rescinded.
Full story here.
Ontario Clears $1M In Handle In First Week Of Legal Single-Event Betting In Canada
Single-event sports betting in Canada went live Aug. 27, providing Canadian bettors with ample time to place wagers on NFL season-long futures before the regular season starts next week. (Four NFL teams — the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Seattle Seahawks — play in stadiums located within 75 miles of the Canadian border.)
Already, the nation’s largest province has provided encouraging results, as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced Wednesday that it handled more than C$1 million over the first five days of legal single-event sports betting across Ontario. Of all wagers placed on the new Proline online sportsbook, the platform used by the OLG, approximately 74% were bets placed under the single-event variety.
Full story here.
