Brett Smiley of US sports betting news portal SportHandle.com provides SBC Americas with another comprehensive round-up of news from the States.
Where Do Gubernatorial Candidates Stand on Sports Betting? West Edition
Thirty-six states will elect governors next month, and we at Sports Handle wondered if sports betting ranks among the key issues in any state elections — or as a topic of campaign trail conversation at all.
In most cases, sports betting is not a hot topic and likely won’t be a deciding factor in electing a governor (although there are single issue voters on every issue), but there are some states in which the legislature has been actively exploring sports betting and having a “friendly” governor will speed the process in those states.
Using the Mighty Mississippi as our divider, we present our findings in two parts.
Full story here.
Lawmakers Pushing for Legal Sports Betting in Washington D.C., possibly with Mobile Betting Before Retail
Legal sports betting may be coming to the District of Columbia(District), a development made clear at a public hearing on Wednesday by Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2), Chairman of the D.C. Council’s Finance & Revenue Committee.
The hearing occurred roughly one month after Evans and five colleagues submitted the sports betting bill — B22-0944, the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018.
Full story here.
Hearing Reveals Illinois Lawmakers Moving Toward Legalizing Sports Betting
If anything became clear from Wednesday’s Joint Committee on Revenue and Finance in Illinois it was this: Illinois lawmakers are eager to pass a bill legalizing sports wagering. The question — or questions — are what the bill will look like. During the four-plus hour hearing in Springfield, lawmakers heard from gaming stakeholders, representatives from individual cities and towns, pro sports players’ associations, Major League Baseball and the Chicago White Sox, various horsemen’s groups and racetracks, and those opposed to sports betting.
Full story here.
Sports Betting Launches in New Mexico: ‘We Expect A Big Weekend’
The Santa Ana Star Casino & Hotel, a tribal gaming operation near Albuquerque, New Mexico, is now the first Western U.S. state to join Nevada in offering full-fledged sports betting in a legal environment.
The first bet, made Tuesday at noon local time, was a $30 moneyline win ticket on the Astros to beat the Red Sox (-128) in Game 3 of their ALCS contest Tuesday. The Red Sox won, 8-2.
Las Vegas-based USBookmaking is risk manager for the Santa Ana Star, in operation since 1993 by the Tamaya Nation at the Pueblo of Santa Ana. USBookmaking Director of Operations John Salerno told Sports Handle, it’s a B2B operation utilizing the Stadium betting platform with all employees working directly for the property. It has four windows for taking bets and will be open daily from 12 p.m.-8 p.m., with expanded hours on weekends.
Full story here.
