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.

Exploiting Kids For Florida Sports Betting Initiative ‘Poor Form And Dangerous’

A young, bespectacled, cape and pigtail-wearing elementary student grasps a book in one arm and raises her fist with the other to salute you, maker of parlays, champion of education. Legal sports betting in Florida could be “risk-free,” because no matter a bet’s outcome, the kids will ultimately win. 

The potential is very real for a new nine-digit annual infusion of revenue benefiting various educational programs, thanks to a windfall that might be produced through a competitive legal online sports betting marketplace in Florida. But the design and imagery of the new campaign by “Florida Education Champions” to create an open sportsbook market via constitutional amendment, for some, distastefully co-opts children and is a bit disingenuous. Sports betting titans DraftKings and FanDuel are the main contributors to the campaign.

Full story here.

Leaving Las Vegas, Or Not: Sin City Still King For Some Post-PASPA

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Wrong. Certainly not post-PASPA, and definitely not with the explosion of mobile wagering. What happens in Vegas will soon happen in most of the country, if it’s not already.

So, given all that, why do so many sports betting enthusiasts — professional and recreational alike — still make a point to physically reside in or visit Sin City to get their action down?

It depends on whom you talk to — so we talked to just about everyone imaginable with skin in the game, save for Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon.

Full story here.

US Bookmaking, Brainchild Of Victor Salerno, Sold To Italian Gaming Company

US Bookmaking, which provides turn-key sports wagering operations for casinos — and which was the brainchild of founder, president, and longtime sportsbook impresario Victor Salerno — announced the sale of the company to Elys Game Technology, an interactive gaming and sports betting tech operation.

The deal, which was announced in a Wednesday morning press release, could be worth up to $50 million for the US Bookmaking team over the course of the next four years. In addition to Salerno, the US Bookmaking management team includes Bob Kocienski, CEO; John Salerno, director of operations; and Robert Walker, director of the sportsbook.

Full story here.

FanDuel To Enter Connecticut Via Deal With Mohegan Gaming

FanDuel found its gaming entry point into Connecticut Wednesday, announcing it has reached a deal with powerhouse Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment to offer retail and online sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and iGaming.

The deal is pending license and regulatory approvals in the state and comes shortly after FanDuel and eternal rival DraftKings were able to secure access to continue offering DFS. Connecticut’s recently passed sports betting law requires DFS operators to be tethered to an entity with a master sports wagering license, and both sportsbooks were given provisional licenses effective July 1.

Full story here.

Online Sports Betting In Arizona Is Primed To Be A Free-For-All Come Fall

Arizona has seen a pair of literal gold rushes: Gila Placers Rush back in 1858, the Colorado River Gold Rush from 1862 to 1864.

And one day, historians will add a third, less literal, but almost certainly more lucrative, gold rush to the story of Arizona: the upcoming battle for online sportsbook market share.

There’s gold in them thar parlays, in other words.

And the battle is going to be one to watch for the industry. For starters — while there is nothing set in stone just yet — it appears as if there could be up to 40 online sportsbooks battling it out in Arizona. 

Full story here.

Status Of Every Legal, But Not Live, U.S. Sports Betting Jurisdiction

As we move into the second half of 2021 with lawmakers in Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and elsewhere still hoping to legalize sports betting, it seemed an apt time to review the status of the 11 jurisdictions — including New York, adding to its in-person wagering — that have (mostly) legal sports betting expansion on the books, but aren’t yet live.

Of those 11 jurisdictions, lawmakers in seven of them have legalized sports wagering since January. In four states, voters approved sports betting on the November 2020 ballot, and lawmakers were tasked in 2021 with creating the necessary enabling framework. Regulators in most jurisdictions are now developing, discussing, or massaging proposed rules, and many are hoping for live sports betting by the end of 2021. That said, as of today, only Arizona, South Dakota, and Wyoming appear positioned to meet that goal.

Full story here.