SportsHandle: That was the week that was in US sports betting

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

Contentious Missouri Sports Betting Hearing May Net Dividends

Missouri lawmakers had a vibrant, sometimes combative conversation about sports betting on Tuesday, and Sen. Denny Hoskins, who has been crafting sports betting legislation for at least four sessions, once again led the charge. The hearing didn’t result in a vote, but it was another step toward legalized sports betting in the state.

The hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee went for nearly two hours, and Hoskins dominated much of that, peppering Sen. Caleb Rowden, Missouri Gaming Commission Executive Director Mike Winter, and Caesars Entertainment VP of Government Affairs A. John Baker with questions, criticisms, and observations for nearly an hour. Winter took the worst of it, fending off about 30 minutes of inquiry before Appropriations Chairman Dan Hegeman suggested Hoskins table his questions.

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s Bay State Bid For Sports Betting

For the second time in three years, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker filed a sports betting proposal — bringing the total number of bills introduced this year to four. Baker’s HD 678 allows for statewide mobile wagering and gives broad power to the state’s gaming commission, which would be the regulator.

As the proposal stands now, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be tasked with determining 12 key points of what sports betting would look like, including how many “skins” (online brand) to offer per brick-and-mortar sportsbook, the amount of cash reserves each book is required to hold, and the maximum wager size an operator could accept.

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Illinois Sets Sports Betting Handle Record At $449.2M For November

The Illinois Gaming Board released its full sports betting figures for the month of November on Monday, and the Land of Lincoln set a new standard for the sixth month running with a traditional handle of $449.2 million.

November’s handle was a modest 3.4% increase on October’s amount of nearly $434.6 million total dollars wagered at the state’s eight sportsbook operators. The eightsome generated just under $41.3 million in revenue for November as they posted a win rate of 9.1% on a taxable handle of just under $453.6 million. That resulted in nearly $6.2 million for the state’s tax coffers, and Cook County received $425,355 in tax revenue on 2% of adjusted gross revenue for all wagers placed in the county.

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New Era For Compulsive Gambling Aid In U.S.?

January was an eventful month in many ways — and that includes potentially good news for those concerned about funding for problem gambling programs.

Brianne Doura-Schawohl, vice president of U.S. policy and strategic development for EPIC Risk Management, told an iGaming Business webinar audience recently that developments in both Virginia and neighboring Washington, D.C., bode well for such funding.

Virginia, which launched mobile sports betting last month, in its enabling legislation sets aside a specific amount for compulsive gambling treatment programs.

That is particularly significant, Doura-Schawohl said, because as recently as five years ago Virginia was one of 10 states that provided no such funding at all.

Now, 2.5% of the tax dollars raised from sports betting revenue will go to problem gambling aid.

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Mattress Mack Bets $3.46 Million On The Super Bowl, While Others Can’t Get Down $110

I was glancing at Twitter this morning and came across a tweet from Shane Sigsbee, the co-founder and CEO of IMAWHALE staking group, an operation that “provides capital, coaching, and management to online poker players worldwide.”

According to his Twitter profile, Sigsbee is also a “Real Estate Investor. Entrepreneur. Christian. Husband. Dad. Golfer.”

Sigsbee also says he tried to put down a $100,000 bet on the Buccaneers +3.5 at BetMGM and was denied.

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Barstool Sportsbook Start In Michigan Surpasses What It Found In Pennsylvania

The Barstool Sportsbook app had a much stronger debut in Michigan than Pennsylvania, having benefited from the recent start on an even playing field with competitors, Penn National Gaming officials described Thursday morning.

Penn National’s Barstool site was able to launch in Michigan Jan. 22 along with nine other online sportsbooks. Over the three-day weekend it received 24,445 registrations, 18,946 first-time deposits, and $13.7 million in handle, the company reported for a quarterly earnings call with analysts.

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