SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
Federal Complaint Filed Against Sports Bettor ‘Parlay Patz’ For Threats Against MLB Players
The United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida announced Wednesday it has filed a criminal complaint accusing Benjamin Tucker “Parlay” Patz of transmitting threats in interstate and foreign commerce.
The 23-year-old Patz, who attained national media attention after purportedly winning $1 million through sports gambling in a six-week span last November to December, faces a maximum of five years in federal prison if convicted. The complaint references several news stories about Patz’s wagering activities, chief among them one by former ESPN and current Action Network reporter Darren Rovell titled “50 Days, $1.1 Million in Winnings and One Wild Ride: A Day Inside the ‘Parlay Patz’ Phenomenon.”
Full story here.
Implications Of Landmark Sportradar Lawsuit Unclear On US Sports Betting Market
Sportradar initiated legal proceedings Wednesday against Betgenius and London-based Football DataCo, firing the latest salvo in the highly contentious global sports data war.
The claim relates to the structure for the licensing and distribution of live data from Football DataCo’s (FDC) leagues for sports betting purposes, Sportradar said in a statement. Essentially, the company alleges that its competitor Betgenius is shutting Sportradar out from collecting and furnishing data on certain leagues’ games, and in so doing, violating UK and EU competition law.
Full story here.
Virginia Lawmakers Come To Agreement On Sports Betting Bill
Sports Handle has learned that Virginia lawmakers have come to an agreement on what sports betting will look like in the state with plans to get a revamped bill onto the House and Senate floors within the next few days. The legislative session ends at midnight on Saturday.
According to a source, and confirmed by House bill sponsor Mark Sickles, a House and Senate conference committee was able to iron out key details between HB 896 and SB 384, which passed their respective chambers last month. The bill that will move forward would allow for pre-game and live in-game wagering on college sports — which was prohibited in the initial House bill — but would ban prop bets on college sports, and the tax rate would be set at 17.5%, which is a compromise between the 15% the Senate was seeking and the 20% the House was seeking.
Full story here.
Maryland Committee Sends Sports Betting Referendum Bill To Senate Floor
Maryland lawmakers on Tuesday inched closer to sending a decision on legal sports wagering to the voters when the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee sent an updated version of SB 4 to the Senate floor. Bill sponsor Craig Zucker altered the bill to add a potential new Washington Redskins stadium and three horse racetracks to the list of places that could house sportsbooks. The bill would allow for state-wide mobile sports betting, and if approved by both chambers it would go on the November ballot.
Full story here.
Like It Or Not, The IRS Expects All Those Gambling Wins To Be Reported
Those new to legalized gambling in 2019 and long accustomed to faithful diligence in filing their tax returns could be in for a rude awakening between now and April 15.
The reason is that IRS regulations, if followed to the letter, don’t favor the average gambler in terms of how wins and losses are treated. It’s more like playing against a card shark dealing from the bottom of the deck, only with the force of law behind him.
In a nutshell, the government treats gambling wins — whether from the sports betting industry’s explosion or old-fashioned slot machines, poker, lotteries or anything else — as taxable to the same extent as wages. It is to be reported as “other income” on line 21 of the 1040.
Full story here.
Connecticut Sports Betting Efforts Headed Back To Nowhere
On the same day that Connecticut’s Committee on Public Safety and Security held its first hearing of 2020 on legal sports betting, Governor Ned LaMont released a statement saying he’s not willing to give the state’s tribes exclusivity.
At the same time, lawmakers alternately praised and sparred with tribal leaders, who say it’s clear they do have exclusivity when it comes to sports betting in Connecticut. The upshot is that lawmakers, the governor and the tribes remain paralyzed on how to proceed.
Full story here.