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.
(Note: given the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, expected events are subject to change.)
Watching for more state legislature shutdowns: Multiple states that are working on sports betting legislation have suspended their legislatures due to the spread of COVID-19. Those include the Missouri Senate and Georgia, which has only had one hearing so far on SB 403. Any kind of gambling legislation could fall to the bottom of the list in terms of importance for these state governments, which clearly have more pressing concerns.
Pennsylvania’s sports betting results: We could find out this week if Pennsylvania will follow New Jersey and see handle dip compared to January. New Jersey’s handle fell 9.2% in February compared to January but still posted strong results with nearly $500 million in handle. Pennsylvania had nearly $350 million in handle in January. This will also be the last month of results with just eight online sportsbooks as Harrah’s Philadelphia launched the Caesars Online Sportsbook last week.
Colorado to hand out more sports betting licenses Thursday: A total of 16 sports betting licenses are on the agenda for the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission’s meeting this week. A handful of big operators including FanDuel Sportsbook, Fox Bet and PointsBet are up for licensing. Full House Resorts and Premier Entertainment will also get approval for sports betting at their three casinos. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Colorado planned to hold monthly licensing-only meetings as well to help with the high volume of license requests it has received so far. The regulator licensed eight companies at the first special meeting earlier this month.
