SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.

Michigan Moves Closer To Online Sportsbook Launch With Public Hearing Date Set

Another milestone came into sight on the road to legal online sportsbooks in Michigan, as regulators this week gave notice for a Sept. 23 public hearing for comments on the draft online sports betting regulations published earlier in August.

Adhering to social-distancing measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the hearing will take place virtually, with interested parties welcome to attend via Microsoft Teams. Stakeholders and members of the public may also submit written comments in advance electronically or via regular mail. This is the next step identified in the rulemaking process summary published in late January, with the public hearing serving as the bridge from draft rules to final regulations, and later adoption after review by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

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FanDuel Poised To Be Live For Mobile Sports Betting In Illinois By NFL Season

FanDuel is lined up on the runway and will be the next mobile sportsbook to take flight in Illinois, after the Illinois Gaming Board confirmed on Tuesday that FanDuel’s partner, Par-A-Dice Casino, filed its “go-live” paperwork on Aug. 19. The IGB has been taking two-three weeks to approve such requests. Three weeks from Aug. 19 is Sept. 9, one day before the 2020 season opener on a Thursday night between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, meaning there could be three mobile/online platforms for Illinois bettors to choose from at the start of NFL season.

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Plenty Of Bears Bets To Ponder As NFL Season Draws near

Though the NFL can never truly sneak up on fans given its year-round, omnipresent status, the lack of preseason games in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented simultaneous occurrences of the NBA and NHL playoffs taking place in August means they can be forgiven for not immediately recalling the season starts in two weeks.

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DraftKings CEO Rips Rush Street Over Illinois Sports Betting: ‘Corrupt Idiots’

DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins on Monday morning fired off some harsh words showing that he is unappreciative — to put it mildly — of competitor Rush Street Gaming’s jockeying in the Illinois sports betting field. This comes on the heels of Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday rolling back the requirement that patrons must register for sports betting accounts in person, which Rush Street, operator of the Rivers Casino BetRivers online sportsbook, had favored.

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Pennsylvanians Who Back Local Teams With Their Money Can Home In On Flyers Now

A month after major professional sports returned for four Pennsylvania teams, only the Philadelphia Flyers appear worth a bet for all but the most diehard of fans.

The Flyers open a Stanley Cup semi-final playoff series Monday night as favorites over the New York Islanders, both for the game and best-of-seven series.

The Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, were unceremoniously swept by the Boston Celtics in an NBA opening playoff series, eliminating hopes of those who had bet on them at 20/1 or longer odds a month ago to win the title.

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