SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
Digital Sports Betting Bill Filed In Texas
A gaming lobbyist earlier this week predicted that “something is going to happen in Texas,” and on Thursday, he was proven right. Democratic Rep. Harold Dutton filed what could be the first of multiple sports betting bills in a state that has long been opposed to legal gambling but at the heart of the sports betting debate in recent weeks.
Full story here.
NJ Just Misses Hitting The $1B Sports Betting Milestone In December
Gamblers in New Jersey increased their sports wagering totals for a seventh straight month in December — but not quite enough to reach what would have been a milestone figure.
Still, a U.S. record of $996.3 million was gambled on sports, according to state Division of Gaming Enforcement figures released Wednesday. That is up from $931.6 million in November, which had become the record then.
Full story here.
TwinSpires Tabs Brett Favre To Headline Michigan iGaming Ad Campaign
TwinSpires is calling on a heavy hitter to promote their sportsbook rebranding and online gaming options, using Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre in its new ad campaign.
The deal announced Thursday will have the Super Bowl-winning quarterback in a commercial participating in a series of betting-related boot camp drills as part of its “Bet Dedicated” ad campaign that will debut in Michigan, perhaps as early as next week pending regulatory approval by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Full story here.
With Potential Hurdles Cleared, Legal Connecticut Sports Betting Should Happen In 2021
Update: On Jan. 13, a one-paragraph placeholder bill calling for statewide mobile sports betting and iGaming run by Connecticut tribes was filed. SB 146 would also allow for sports betting at the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, as well as permit the state lottery to sell draw game tickets and conduct keno games online. The bill has been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security.
After nearly three years of haggling, everything seems to be falling into place for legal Connecticut legal sports betting. And when all is said and done, the state’s two tribes will likely have a duopoly and exclusivity. That result is exactly what the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegans have been fighting for. Suffice to say, in this case, patience really does appear to be a virtue.
Full story here.
Johnny Avello Of DraftKings Sportsbook Talks Big Hits And Misses In The 2020 NFL Season
While we’re not quite at the Super Bowl yet, the fact that the NFL got in a full season is a minor miracle. Call it hubris, call it good planning, call it the ghost of George Halas, the fact remains: Despite an ongoing global pandemic, the NFL managed to juke, jive, and dodge its way to a full 17 weeks.
Yes, there were hiccups, and sure, every day of the week had to be utilized, and yep, some teams got screwed a bit through no fault of their own (sorry, Steelers fans), but in the end: football as we knew it, Sunday afternoons, pass the chips and salsa.
Full story here.
Vegas Billionaire Adelson, Who Died Monday, Once Had Meadowlands Casino On His Radar
Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who died Monday night at age 87, kept his focus on Las Vegas and Macau for business and on Israel for philanthropic efforts.
But that doesn’t mean he never looked into the goings-on in New Jersey, which in 1978 opened the first legal U.S. casino outside of Nevada.
At a gaming conference in Las Vegas in 2014, Adelson, speaking during a period when Atlantic City was in the midst of having five of its 12 casinos shuttered, said he had seen its downturn coming many years earlier.
Full story here.
