Matthew Waters and the team at Legal Sports Report highlight some of the key US sports betting issues to look out for in the week ahead.
New Hampshire, DraftKings launching: New Hampshire can officially become the sixth state to launch sports betting in 2019 if the mobile DraftKings Sportsbook launches Monday as planned. DraftKings won the exclusive mobile and retail sports betting rights in the state (aside from the New Hampshire Lottery’s offering through Intralot) after it offered to split revenue 50/50 with the state. Retail sportsbooks could begin opening sometime in the spring. The Granite State will be the fifth state launch for DraftKings Sportsbook.
Indiana getting fourth online sportsbook: BetAmerica should be live Monday after getting approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission to launch as the fourth Indiana online sportsbook. It’s the third state with mobile sports betting from the Churchill Downs sportsbook brand powered by SBTech’s platform. BetAmerica is the first of three sports betting partners to launch through Full House Resorts’ license at Rising Star. CEO Dan Lee suggested earlier this year all three could be live by the Super Bowl Feb. 2. Smarkets and Wynn Resorts on the BetBull platform are the other two partners.
Rhode Island sports betting figures: As in previous months, all eyes will be on Rhode Island’s sports betting figures. Mobile sports betting launched in September but hasn’t brought the same kind of growth as it has to other states due to its in-person registration requirement. October’s sports betting handle grew 27.4% over September, but mobile remained just 20.7% of all handle. That’s compared to 86.5% in New Jersey and 84.3% in Pennsylvania, which aren’t limited by in-person registration, and 56.7% in Iowa, which also has in-person registration. Through Dec. 2 only 45.5% of all mobile registrations were completed at one of the state’s two casinos operated by Twin River.
