SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
Opinion: The NFL’s Sports Gambling Playbook Is Dangerously Flawed
Note: The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sports Handle and Better Collective.
The “responsible gambling” collaboration announced by the National Football League (NFL) and National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is dangerously flawed. If this were merely about phrasing and a poor choice of words, no response would be necessary. Quite the opposite is true.
The collaboration between the NFL and NCPG is ethically, scientifically, and legally deficient public policy, and a threat to public health. Simply stated, the NFL and the NCPG are now partners in the gambling establishment, and the responsible gambling model is the antithesis of harm prevention.
Full story here.
Rush Street Sticks To ‘Bread And Butter’ With Social Sportsbook Launch In Canada
As Ontario approaches the highly anticipated launch of its iGaming market, prominent U.S. sports betting operators have taken steps to prepare for their Canadian debut.
BetMGM has aired a glitzy commercial featuring Wayne Gretzky, titled “With Every Tap, A New Legend Is Born.” PointsBet has assembled an all-star cast for its Canadian team. FanDuel announced the hiring of a former Rogers Communication executive last week to head a new Canada division.
Rush Street Interactive (RSI), however, plans to stick to its “bread and butter” formula for leveraging its large suite of online casino products as it makes sports betting inroads into Canada.
Full story here.
FanDuel Broadens Canadian Reach With Hire Of Former Deloitte, Rogers Exec Dale Hooper
FanDuel continued to make inroads north of the U.S. border last week with the hire of Dale Hooper as general manager of its newly created Canada division.
Hooper, a former executive at Canadian media company Rogers Communications, most recently served as a partner at Deloitte Canada, where he focused on the cannabis industry. The appointment of Hooper comes as Ontario nears the highly anticipated launch of its iGaming market, when the province will open the online sports betting market to private sportsbook operators.
Full story here.
Seminoles Partner With Five Florida Parimutuels For Sports Wagering
Florida’s Seminole Tribe announced Thursday that it has made deals with five Florida parimutuels to offer sports betting when the tribe’s new venture goes live next month.
The announcement of the deals come just about a week before a hearing in federal court in a case involving two other parimutuels. The Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis and the U.S. Department of the Interior in seeking an injunction to prevent the start of legal wagering.
Full story here.
Football Keys Nevada’s Record $786.7M September Sports Betting Handle
Nevada all but assured the first $5 billion monthly sports betting handle of the post-PASPA era Wednesday when the state’s Gaming Control Board reported a record $786.7 million wagered in September.
The figure obliterated the Silver State’s previous high of $659.2 million set last October. It also ranked eighth nationally in the post-PASPA era, which started in May 2018, and ended the stranglehold New Jersey had for the top 10 all-time monthly handle totals.
September’s handle was an 83.7% improvement on August’s total of $428.1 million and represented a 36.8% year-over-year increase of the $575.1 million wagered in September 2020. For the year, Nevada is less than $55 million shy of $5 billion in handle.
Full story here.
New York Mobile Betting Amended Bid Deadline: 3 Storylines To Watch
Over the weekend New York Gov. Kathy Hochul celebrated her second full month in office, as the state’s first female governor continues to build support for her 2022 election campaign.
The tenor of New York’s complicated process in completing a public-private partnership for mobile sports betting has changed somewhat since embattled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. For months, the three-term governor pushed vigorously for a tax floor on mobile sports betting gross gaming revenues (GGR) of at least 50%, in an attempt to extract maximum value for the state in tax proceeds.
Full story here.
