SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
In The Midst Of A Glorious Rebound, Las Vegas Casinos Are Faced With COVID Concerns Again
Springtime was good for the Las Vegas casino industry, as customer visits and gaming revenue across Nevada reached pre-pandemic and even historic levels in May.
The start of summer has brought new uncertainties for the tourist mecca, however, with COVID cases resurging at among the highest levels in the country and new local government recommendations and mandates issued relating to masking.
Full story here.
Colorado’s Vast Sports Betting Catalog For Tokyo Olympics Offers Some Unique Wagering Options
With the completion of the NBA season Tuesday night, sports bettors may have anticipated a dead period for several weeks before the start of the NFL regular season.
But this week Coloradans can whet their betting appetite with the Summer Olympic Games, an event usually held every four years. Last summer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) delayed the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Olympics began this week under the same moniker, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, despite the year-long delay.
Full story here.
Exclusive: FanDuel Has Absolutely Dominated Virginia Sports Betting Market So Far
Needing only five months after the launch of its first legal sportsbooks in the state, Virginia became the fastest state in the post-PASPA era to reach $1 billion in handle. And according to data obtained by Sports Handle via a Freedom of Information Act filing, almost exactly half of the entire betting volume came via FanDuel Sportsbook alone, which also leveraged that into 63% of the combined adjusted gross revenue among sportsbooks currently active in the state.
Full story here.
Arizona Regulator Poised To Approve Final Sports Betting Rules
The Arizona Department of Gaming released its final draft event wagering rules late Wednesday with plans to approve them at a meeting set for 10 a.m. local time Friday. The latest proposed rules include an aggressive application timeline, and the ADG is aiming to open the application window Monday. According to the ADG website, the regulator is still aiming to launch sports betting operators on Sept. 9, the first day of the 2021 NFL season.
Full story here.
FBI Documents Show Top Vegas Names Involved In Horse Race Fixing In 1970s
Black Mass wasn’t exactly Goodfellas.
I mean, sure, the story of James “Whitey” Bulger and his alliance with the FBI is a fascinating one, and Johnny Depp gave a great performance, but it’s not exaclty going down in history as one of the best mob movies ever.
Well, now Hollywood has a second chance to get Whitey right, as the FBI — thanks to a Boston Herald FOIA request — just released some 300 pages of documents concerning Bulger, and perhaps the juiciest stuff concerns how The Winter Hill Gang — which Bulger was a major part of before taking it over completely in 1979 — ran a giant horse race fixing scheme in 1974 and 1975, right before Bulger teamed up with the feds.
Full story here.
PA Gaming Industry On Track To Earn A Billion More In 2021 Than In Any Previous Year
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board issued a summary of gaming revenue for the 2020-21 Fiscal Year Monday that led to headlines about how the nearly $3.9 billion generated the past 12 months had “smashed” prior records related to casino gambling.
Left unstated, however, was how the surge that has taken place in the first half of 2021 suggests this calendar year will end up topping any prior year’s revenue by at least $1 billion.
Full story here.
As New York Mobile Sports Betting Process Intensifies, Tribes’ Status Hangs In Balance
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s team sat down at the negotiating table with legislative leaders on a deal this spring that will bring mobile sports betting to the Empire State, the sides remained at an impasse on a key provision involving tribal gaming entities.
Now, as top sportsbooks work feverishly to submit applications for New York’s competitive bidding process on online sports wagering, the status of tribal gaming operators in the new marketplace still hangs in the balance. The New York Gaming Commission, which is in charge of regulating online sports wagering across the state, will select a minimum of two platform providers and a minimum of four mobile sports betting operators at the completion of the process. Bids are due early next month.
Full story here.
