Our Stateside colleagues at SportsHandle bring you their grandstand view of the big developments this week in sports betting.

MGM Drops Mobile Sportsbook in New Jersey With Borgata’s PlayMGM App

On Wednesday after two-plus weeks of waiting, playMGM NJ Sports app through the MGM-owned Borgata in Atlantic City will give company to the DraftKings Sportsbook, which had fully launched on Aug. 6 and remained the only online sports betting app available in New Jersey.

But wait no more: the playMGM app is available now to New Jersey-based Android users. “The playMGM NJ Sports app is being initially soft-launched on the Android platform, with an iOS version due to launch imminently,” said MGM Resorts International in a statement coinciding with the app’s release.

More here.

PlaySugarHouse.com Launches N.J. Online Sports Betting Platform

PlaySugarHouse.com has now launched an online sports betting platform for New Jersey sports bettors, significant in that it integrates the new sports wagering opportunity for state residents with its already operating online casino. This also makes the mobile/online sports betting platform the third available in New Jersey, on the heels of MGM’s Wednesday release of the Android version of its playMGM NJ Sports app through the MGM-owned Borgata in Atlantic City.

Fully story here.

Wide Range of Testimony Offered at First Illinois Gaming Hearing

Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday heard plenty during a four-plus hour hearing in Chicago about legalizing gaming in the state. Speakers at the meeting ranged from those representing municipalities, including the city of Chicago, to those opposed to gaming altogether to video gaming interests and casinos.

While sports betting was not a key part of the agenda, at least one speaker noted his company’s interest and referred to a second hearing, set for October. Wednesday’s hearing before the members of both the Gaming and Sales and Other Taxes House subcommittees, was arranged by Representative Bob Rita (D-District 28), who has been carrying the sports betting torch in Illinois for more than five years.

Read more here.

In Legal Sports Betting States, How Will Justice System Handle Illegal Bookies?

“I’m not mad, I’m proud of ya. You took your first pinch like a man, and you learned the two most important things in life. You listenin’? Never rat on your friends, and ALWAYS keep your mouth shut.”

Those were the Goodfellas words spoken from Jimmy Conway to Henry Hill during his first “pinchin’.”  In the movie, Hill got pinched for selling illegal cartons of cigarettes, but it made us think: What happens to an illegal sports bookie when he gets arrested?

Story in full here.