SportsHandle: the week that was in US sports betting

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

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

SPORTS WAGERING WILL BEGIN IN OHIO ON JAN. 1

The first sports wager in Ohio will take place on Jan. 1, 2023.

That’s the date the Ohio Casino Control Commission announced as the universal start date for sports wagering to begin in the Buckeye State during Wednesday’s virtual commission meeting.

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Atlantic City Casinos Party Like It’s 2019

Atlantic City casinos were closed from mid-March until July 4 weekend in 2020, and COVID-19 continued to hamper businesses for the nine gambling sites last summer. But the just-concluded Memorial Day weekend proved to be a success, and a wealth of new projects have been planned to make it all the more worthwhile for prodigal patrons to return.

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TheScore Bet Plans To Discontinue Sports Wagering In U.S. On July 1

Flourishing in its home nation since the debut of the Ontario iGaming market in April, theScore alerted customers on Wednesday that it will discontinue its U.S. sports betting operations effective July 1.

With the closure, theScore will shift focus to accelerating its growth in Ontario and expanding its technology roadmap north of the U.S. border, with the ultimate goal of migrating Barstool Sportsbook onto the company’s in-house risk and trading platform in the relatively near future.

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Winners And Losers In The Aftermath Of Chicago’s Bally’s Selection

The process to bring a casino to downtown Chicago, which recently completed its first key step, had a little bit of everything.

It can be argued that the process was slow, as evidenced by the city granting a near three-month extension to potential suitors during the RFP process. It can also be argued, however, that it was fast, given Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s whiplash-inducing, three-week sprint from selecting Bally’s $1.7 billion Tribune proposal as the preferred operator to full city council approval.

There were proponents and opponents, some quiet and a few quite vocal

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Why Is Maryland’s Mobile Sports Wagering Launch Taking So Long?

When a reader reaches out, there’s a decent chance I know the question on their mind before I even read their message. Typically they’ll ask, “Why is it taking Maryland so long to launch mobile sports betting?”

It’s a fair question, and the answer relates to the state’s sports betting legislation. Maryland’s law includes specific language related to diversity and inclusion that makes the process of launching mobile sportsbooks more time-consuming than the process in other states. A fiscal note attached to HB 940 sums up the situation well. 
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