SportsHandle: That was the week that was in US sports betting

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SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.

A Tangled Web: New York Shifts Attention To Competitive Bidding Process After Historic Sports Betting Deal

Forgive New York State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. if he is feeling a little sleep deprived.

On Monday night, Addabbo drove hours from his home district in Queens to the State Capitol in Albany, where he took part in marathon sports betting negotiations. The talks lasted into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, several hours before the state reached a historic deal that is expected to legalize mobile sports betting in New York. The high-stakes discussions in the Empire State have been closely monitored by analysts nationwide, given the scope of the market.

Full story here.

My Father, The Problem Gambler, As Defined By Both The New National Report And Me

When I read the National Council on Problem Gambling’s new report describing how fully half of America views people with such issues as lacking willpower and being to blame for their problems, I couldn’t help but think of my father.

I remembered how mortified I was in childhood more than a half-century ago, to hear him loudly cursing inside Forbes Field when my Pirates scored a run and everyone around us was cheering. Garbed in a shirt given to him as a Pirates employee, he threw his usher’s rag to the ground in disgust.

He had a bet on the Cubs.

Full story here.

New York Includes Mobile Sports Betting Framework In Budget Agreement Clearing Path For Legalizing Online Sports Wagering

After three years of high-stakes negotiations, intense lobbying efforts and input from a bevy of professional sports leagues headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York leaders included the framework of a mobile sports betting deal in the state’s 2022 Fiscal Year budget.

Brokered on Tuesday, following marathon discussions that lasted until about 4 a.m., the deal will effectively legalize online sports wagering in the Empire State. The draining 11th-hour negotiations pave the way for New York to potentially begin offering mobile sports betting in September for the NFL season, though the timeframe for a formal launch date has not been set. In January, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo completed an abrupt U-turn on his position on mobile sports betting, the three-term governor declared that New York could become the largest market in the nation.

Full story here.

BetMGM, Unibet, And theScore Deal With New Illinois Landscape

Much like sports betting, nearly every decision made by a state that involves rules and regulations creates winners and losers.

That process is still sorting itself out after Gov. JB Pritzker opted to let Executive Order 2020-41 lapse last weekend, which means bettors in Illinois must now go to a casino and register for access to obtain the mobile app of their choice. While there are six options available, only one mobile operator — Barstool Sportsbook — launched in the last six-plus months.

Full story here

Ilitch Family Branches Out, Buys Half Of Atlantic City Hotel And Casino

The Ilitch family must be enjoying owning the MotorCity Hotel and Casino, because they’ve now expanded their casino holdings east, buying up to half of the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

The family, through their holding company, Ilitch Holdings, owns the aforementioned MotorCity property, as well as the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Little Caesars, and a handful of other businesses. In total, the company booked $3.8 billion in revenue in 2018.

Full story here.

The Phil Ivey Baccarat Saga Gets The Harvard Treatment

It’s not every day that a paper in the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law starts its introduction with “Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater,” but then again it’s not every day a Hong Kong-born card sharp spends four years plotting her revenge against a worldwide casino conglomerate and teams up with one of poker’s top players in an effort to exact that revenge. And it’s also not every day that they succeed, with one of them ending up in court, losing, then settling on appeal — in other words, winning — and then have a movie starring Awkwafina made about the whole ordeal.

Full story here

Maryland Sports Betting Bill Heads To Senate Floor For Possible Action Within Days

Maryland is poised to become one of the most open and inclusive legal sports betting markets in the U.S. after the full state Senate passed an amended version of the House’s sports betting framework bill by voice vote Thursday morning. The bill now moves on to third reading, likely Friday, before it would be sent back to the House for approval because the Senate added amendments. HB 940 initially passed the House in March.

The bill has been a hot topic in Annapolis this week — less than 24 hours earlier, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee moved the bill with a unanimous vote.

Full story here.