SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
As Fanatics Sportsbook Continues Rollout, A Look At Where Licenses Are Available
With plans to launch its proprietary sports betting platform in about a dozen states around the start of the football season this year, Fanatics Sportsbook on Monday expanded its beta testing and began contacting additional Ohio and Tennessee customers to offer them access to the company’s platform in those states. Fanatics began beta-testing the platform in Tennessee and Ohio earlier this year and is now moving into a “second phase” by allowing existing Fanatics customers the opportunity to bet.
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In Gaming Regulation, What They Don’t Know Can Hurt You
If an individual were heading to a hospital’s operating theater for surgery, it would be troubling to that individual to understand that the people who approved the surgical procedures had no experience in medicine. Imagine if the folks regulating this operation were two lawyers, a termed-out politician, a retired police officer, and a longtime contributor to the governor.
So, too, those who drive across a bridge on the way to work would hope that the people responsible for the rules by which that bridge was designed, constructed, and maintained would have had some professional training and credentials in the world of bridge building.
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UK White Paper May Have Major Impact On US Sports Betting Reforms, Experts Say
Last week, the UK Gambling Commission achieved a breakthrough of sorts when it issued a hotly anticipated white paper, the agency’s most comprehensive review of gaming regulations since mobile wagering became ubiquitous in the space.
Delayed more than a year amid political turmoil, the 336-page document sets new standards on online player protections, sports betting marketing, and advertising targeted to vulnerable populations, among numerous other areas. Across the Atlantic, the lengthy review has been closely watched by responsible gambling advocates to determine if the standards will have a discernible effect on the sports betting ecosystem in North America.
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UK White Paper Says Online Slots Should Be Limited, While US Operators Offer Spendy Spins
Advertising was just one area the white paper dove into.
Another section, which has gone largely unnoticed in the U.S., focused on placing limits on online casino play. Specifically, the paper recommended that no online casino game should have limits higher than about $18.75 per spin for adults over 25 and $2.50 a spin for adults of a legal age under 25.
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Heat Is A Home Run Bettor’s Best Friend, American Meteorological Society Study Finds
Baseball announcers and their home run calls — they’re like fingerprints.
From Harry Caray’s “It could be, it might be … it is, a home run!” to John Sterling’s “Swung on and there it goes! That ball is high! It is far! It is … GONE!” there is a long and rich history of spine-tingling calls.
And if the American Meteorological Society is to be believed, there will be even more of those excitable broadcasting moments in the future.
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Alabama Fires Head Baseball Coach Amid Sports Betting Controversy
The University of Alabama has fired head baseball coach Brad Bohannon, the school announced Thursday. His dismissal comes following suspicious wagering activity on the team’s 8-6 loss to No. 1 LSU on April 28.
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Dave Portnoy Fumes Over Decision To Fire Ben Mintz, Points To Regulators
The Barstool-PENN Entertainment marriage — now really more of a one-sided affair, as PENN has assumed full control of the Dave Portnoy-founded brand — faced its toughest test Wednesday when PENN fired Ben Mintz, host of the popular Wake Up Mintzy show, for uttering a racial slur while singing along to recorded music.
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