It’s Friday on SBC Americas so once more our colleagues over at SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
U.S. Commercial Sports Wagering Handle Surpasses $250 Billion Post-PASPA
The rampant popularity of sports wagering across the United States is showing no signs of slowing down, as total handle in jurisdictions with commercial betting recently cleared $250 billion in the post-PASPA era.
It was a quick leap in terms of a $50 billion interval, with just five-plus months to go from $200 million to $250 million. It was an eight-month span to get from $150 million to $200 million, a threshold crossed in early March. The introduction of large-market states Ohio and Massachusetts this year, coupled with the now-normal $1 billion-plus monthly handles in New York, drastically shortened the gap.
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PENN Needs To Use Everything ESPN Has To Offer, Industry Analyst Says
The easy part for PENN Entertainment was signing the 10-year deal with ESPN to rebrand its Barstool Sportsbook into ESPN BET later this year.
The hard part will be hitting 20% market share by 2027, as that’s the goal PENN CEO Jay Snowden laid out during his company’s earnings call this month. Currently, the market is dominated by FanDuel and DraftKings. In fact, those two — and to a lesser extent Caesars, BetMGM, and the current incarnation of Barstool — accounted for more than 92% of the gross gaming revenue for online sportsbooks in the third quarter of 2022, according to numbers compiled by Vixio. Barstool’s share represented a little more than 4% of that number.
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U.S. Rep. Tonko: Speedy Passage Of Sports Betting Ad Ban Bill Unlikely
More than six months have elapsed since U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko of New York proposed legislation that aims to create a federal ban on sports betting commercials nationwide.
There have been dramatic changes since then throughout the U.S. sports betting ecosystem, including after the industry celebrated the fifth anniversary of PASPA’s repeal this spring. Several states have issued six-figure fines for violations related to the targeting of underage populations with sports betting advertising. In the U.K., the nation’s gambling commission released a 336-page white paper calling for uniform standards on digital gaming. By November, Disney will make its highly anticipated debut in the U.S. sports betting market with the launch of ESPN BET.
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Regulators, Colleges Try To Tackle Issues Involving Harassment Of Athletes
It’s not often a college coach looks sullen following a conference victory, but University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant was visibly upset when he spoke after his team’s Jan. 17 win over Davidson.
Grant wasn’t upset about his team’s play, but rather because angry sports bettors had harassed his players on social media the game prior. The online harassment came just days after legal sports betting platforms went live in Ohio.
U.S. Online Casino Revenue $481.5 Million For July, Up 23% From 2022
The six states that offer online casino gaming combined to generate more than $481.5 million in gross revenue for July, a 22.7% increase compared to last year.
The July figure was down 0.1% compared to June’s $482.1 million, with the two months separated by less than $610,000. New Jersey paced the group with nearly $155.2 million, while Michigan was a close second at $153.6 million. Both states had double-digit percentage gains versus July 2022, with the Garden State up 13.5% and the Wolverine State enjoying a 21.3% surge.
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This Florida Tribe Plans To Cash In With Slots At Unique Rest Stop
If you’re into Americana, then you already know all about car Stonehenge in Texas, Graceland in Tennessee, and Route 66. But when you’re getting from place to place, America also offers some interesting rest stops — from one in Nevada where you can buy and shoot off fireworks outside a cafe to the Mars Cheese Castle in Minnesota to “Truckers’ Disneyland” in Iowa.
Florida will add one more to that list this fall when the Miccosukee Tribe unveils its renovated Alligator Alley rest stop, which will include 150 slot machines along with a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Glades Cafe. The Dunkin’ Donuts is already open.
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