Token New Jersey rundown
As we did last week, it makes sense to spend some time where all the sports betting momentum originates.
When last we spoke, June 7 looked like the date for final NJ sports betting regulations. And Dennis Drazin was talking about suing the leagues for hundreds of millions of dollars. Those two things haven’t really changed in the last seven days, but new sh… new stuff has come to light, man.
A lot of new stuff:
Speaking of which…
Hey, sports leagues… how is it going?
The leagues got most of their gripes in last week, but there was some carryover chatter this week, too.
Regulators, regulate
Some updates from around the map, as the states closest to sports betting mount up:
Another week of takes, hot and cold
In general, this week’s headlines were a little less reactionary and a little more in line with long-term roadmaps and expectations. That left some room for our own reactions, having had a bit of time to digest the news.
Here were some of the best takes this week:
As we did last week, it makes sense to spend some time where all the sports betting momentum originates.
When last we spoke, June 7 looked like the date for final NJ sports betting regulations. And Dennis Drazin was talking about suing the leagues for hundreds of millions of dollars. Those two things haven’t really changed in the last seven days, but new sh… new stuff has come to light, man.
A lot of new stuff:
- A new partnership. Ocean Resort Casino hires bookmaking giant William Hill to run its sports betting operations.
- State regulators offer revenue projections of $13 million from a first-year sports betting market. This both sounds small and is a reasonably sound guess. Related but not: NJ online casino revenue is looking good.
- The first possible day. That’s when both Monmouth Park and Borgata say they’ll be ready to take bets. There may be a slight hiccup for the latter, though…
- A new bill from Senate President Steve Sweeney would deny sports betting licenses to operators with ties to sports leagues/franchises. This could affect as many as fiveNJ casinos.
- Telegram from Sweeney. The Senate boss sends a letter to all 50 state governors, urging them to shun “league extortion” in the form of integrity fees.
- More bad news for the leagues: The insatiable Sweeney says he intends to pursue restitution from sports leagues on behalf of the state.
- Even worse news for the leagues: The NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associationactually files suit in court, seeking almost $140 million in damages.
Speaking of which…
Hey, sports leagues… how is it going?
The leagues got most of their gripes in last week, but there was some carryover chatter this week, too.
- The NFL offers its four “core principles” for federal sports betting legislation. There’s no mention of integrity fees, but the framework includes other mechanisms by which the league would profit.
- Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL will bring the Super Bowl to Las Vegas — the sports betting capital of the world — as soon as 2025.
- Sources tell LSR that the NBA and MLB are promising individual colleges a cut of their fees if they’ll voice support for their lobbying efforts at the state level.
Regulators, regulate
Some updates from around the map, as the states closest to sports betting mount up:
- New York officials say they’re moving forward with sports betting regulations under the existing statutory language. A draft will be ready “in the near term.”
- Pennsylvania still has no timeline for sports betting regulations, but the lottery expansion is off to a flying start.
- IGT is the only bidder for the sports betting contract with the Rhode Island Lottery. The state agency is targeting October for rollout at the two Twin River casinos.
- Late Friday afternoon, Illinois leapt back into the conversation with an amended billcontaining placeholders to legalize sports betting, online gambling, and DFS. Next week’s scheduled hearings could be interesting.
- Tribal-state relationships are central to sports betting in many states; Adam Candeepeered across the landscape.
Another week of takes, hot and cold
In general, this week’s headlines were a little less reactionary and a little more in line with long-term roadmaps and expectations. That left some room for our own reactions, having had a bit of time to digest the news.
Here were some of the best takes this week:
- US Sen. Orrin Hatch is a lying liar about sports betting. His attempts to pass a federal bill through Congress this year will probably fail. And then he will retire. (That part’s not really a hot take; he is actually retiring.)
- For all their concerns over sports betting, NBA and MLB still own have ownership positions in two DFS sites poised to become sportsbooks.
- The NCAA shouldn’t even be allowed to utter the word “integrity,” let alone collect any sort of fees to purportedly shield it from sports betting.
- Illegal sportsbooks still have a great many advantages over legal, regulated ones in the marketplace.