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.

Connecticut Governor Reaches Sports Betting Deal With Tribes

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and leaders from the state’s two federally recognized tribes on Thursday morning announced a compromise that will allow sports betting and iGaming legislation to move forward. The new compact deal comes weeks after Lamont’s office announced an agreement with the Mohegan Tribe (Mohegan Sun Casino), angering the Mashantucket Pequot, who said they had not signed off.

The announced deal drops the tax rate on digital sports betting gross gaming revenue from 20% to 18% for the first five years. The Mashantucket Pequot (Foxwoods Casino) were seeking the lower tax rate. The deal is for 10 years with a five-year renewal option.

Full story here.

Kambi Analyst: If You Think You’ve Seen Big Sports Betting Growth Already, Just Wait

A top analyst of the U.S. sports betting market for Kambi was keen to stress Wednesday that the industry’s progress in the past couple of years should be dwarfed in the years lying just ahead.

“There’s still a great deal of potential that remains, and we’re only into the infancy of this market right now,” Kevin Cunningham, a Philadelphia-based competitive intelligence analyst for the global company, told an online audience.

Kambi is not well-known to the public because it operates behind the scenes serving sportsbooks instead of consumers. Headquartered in Europe, it was quick to spread its operations into the U.S. the past three years to become a leading provider of odds-making and risk management services to top sportsbook operators such as DraftKings, Rush Street Interactive, and Penn National Gaming. This week, it is conducting a series of betting industry web seminars it calls the Kambi Festival of Sportsbook.

Full story here.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Is Stepping In To Help Move Sports Betting Legislation

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is once again stepping into the gambling industry fray, meeting Thursday with representatives from companies that operate in the state, Politico Pro reported. DeSantis is hoping to bring all the sides together, including the parimutuel wagering and card room facilities, to hammer out a deal to get gambling legislation in front of state lawmakers before the end of the 2021 session, which ends April 30. Negotiations could result in an elusive deal to bring legal sports betting in some fashion to the third most populous state in the U.S.

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Promos Abound As Colorado Sportsbooks Offer Lines On March Madness For First Time Ever

With more than two decades of experience at some of the most prominent sportsbooks on the Las Vegas Strip, Jay Rood is widely regarded as one of the brightest minds in the U.S. legal sports betting industry.

Before the 2019 NCAA tournament, Rood, then VP of Race and Sports at MGM Resorts, offered a creative “First to 15 points” prop wager at MGM’s properties throughout the Strip. A year earlier, Maryland-Baltimore County had shocked the sports world with a 20-point thrashing of Virginia, becoming the first 16-seed to ever defeat a 1-seed in tournament history.

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New Jersey’s Lofty Sports Betting Numbers Fell To Earth In February

New Jersey’s sports betting handle — the total amount wagered in the state — rose for eight consecutive months before a dip in January. It was not a big dip, however, as that month’s $958.7 million handle was almost in line with December’s all-time U.S. record $996.3 million.

But February proved a different story, as a “mere” $743 million worth of bets were placed legally in the state.

Of course, that number still easily outdistanced larger neighbor Pennsylvania, which produced a wagering handle of $509.5 million. And it also was well ahead of the New Jersey February 2020 mark of $494.8 million.

Full story here.

FanDuel Surges To The Front Of The Michigan Online Sportsbook Pack In First Full Month

When Michigan first opened up its online sportsbooks and released the first 10 days’ worth of numbers last month, it appeared there were a Big Four of operators. 

Now, with February’s release, it’s more like a Big Three Plus One, as FanDuel, BetMGM, and DraftKings pulled away from Barstool in terms of total handle for the month.

FanDuel paced the field with over $87.2 million in bets, BetMGM came in a strong second with $75.7 million, and DraftKings took the show with $73 million.

Barstool — which some touted as not only big competition to the above, but perhaps the once and future king of Michigan sportsbooks — brought in “only” $40.3 million in handle.

Full story here