Tag: Online sports betting

State of the Union: A look back at the week that was in North America

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

NJ senator proposes online gaming tax hike

New Jersey Senator John McKeon has filed a bill that would increase the tax on online casino and digital sports betting platforms to 30%. Online casinos currently pay a 15% state tax, while sports betting platforms pay 13% of gross gaming revenue. The bill is one line and does not include an effective date or argument for the proposed change.

New Jersey law requires that online casinos and sportsbooks be tethered to brick-and-mortar locations, including casinos and horse racetracks. There are currently 30 online casinos and 18 digital sportsbooks.

In general, sportsbook operators are most comfortable with a tax rate of 10% or less. A 30% tax on sports betting would move New Jersey from one of the most favourable places to do business to one of the least.

Of the nearly 40 US j..

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Georgia lawmakers fail (again) to legalise sports betting

Georgia's General Assembly went to the brink on Thursday night (28 March) and still it didn't legalise sports betting.

In fact, the package of bills that got through the senate in less than three weeks never even got in front of the full house for consideration.

Two amended legal sports betting bills – a constitutional amendment and enabling legislation – got out of the House Higher Education Committee early Thursday morning, although sources say the committee had the votes to move the package the previous night. That left about 15 hours to negotiate a deal before the session ended, but the Rules Committee – which met at least three times on Thursday – declined to consider the bills.

This was the fourth consecutive session during which Georgia lawmakers could not come to a consensus and the second time legal wagering became a political football.

In 2021, state Democrats pulled their support after Republicans passed a controversial voting rights bill. This year, the Repu..

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Fanatics replaces PointsBet in Kansas

Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) has announced the launch of its Fanatics sportsbook in Kansas, replacing PointsBet with immediate effect.

Players in Kansas can now download the Fanatics sportsbook and begin placing sports bets.

Existing PointsBet customers will have their information automatically migrated to the new Fanatics sportsbook. This includes their username, password, account balance, rewards points and any responsible gaming settings.

The Kansas launch means Fanatics now has a sports betting presence in 17 states across the US. It follows the roll-out in North Carolina earlier this month when the state officially launched its legal sports betting market.

Other recent launches for Fanatics include New York, where it also replaced the PointsBet brand. FBG acquired PointsBet US in August 2023 and has been phasing out the PointsBet brand ever since, with Indiana another state where Fanatics took the place of PointsBet.

This month, FBG also picked up an event wagering lice..

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Georgia committee passes wagering bill with most generous RG cutout in US

Georgia's House Higher Education Committee passed a package of sports betting bills that ultimately could send at least $22.5m per year to problem and responsible gambling programmes should the state legalise mobile wagering later today.

Today (28 March) Georgia’s General Assembly is set to adjourn by 11.59pm EST. The Higher Education Committee passed amended versions of SR 579 and SB 386, and the Rules Committee put the package on its agenda less than 30 minutes later, but has not yet sent it to the house floor.

Should the house pass the package, it would have to go back to the senate for concurrence or to a conference committee because the bills were amended.

The issue has been sitting in the Higher Education Committee for more than a month as lawmakers rallied support and massaged the bills to find a consensus. As recently as Wednesday (27 March) the proposals were laid over due to lack of support. It was not clear until the vote was called Thursday morning that there was..

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Georgia house committee sets up 11th-hour sports betting sprint

If the Georgia general assembly is to become the first in 2024 to legalise sports betting, it will have 15 hours, 59 minutes to do so, beginning at 8am EST Thursday (28 March).

The House Higher Education Committee today (27 March) failed to vote on a package of bills that would legalise statewide mobile sports betting. The hitch, once again, is how to spend the funds the state will get from the new revenue stream.

The session is scheduled to end Thursday night. The committee will meet two hours before the full house meets at 10am local time. No matter how you slice it, Thursday sets up a sports betting sprint.

The decision not to vote Wednesday was the second this week, after the Higher Education Committee laid the bill over Monday (25 March). So far, the committee has had three hearings, dating back to 19 March, and at least one cancelled meeting.

Senate sponsor Bill Cowsert is set to introduce an amendment that will appropriate 15% of tax revenue for problem and responsible gamb..

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Leading US operators launch Responsible Online Gaming Association

Seven of North America's largest operators have joined together to launch the Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) in a bid to promote responsible gaming (RG).

ROGA is aiming to promote best RG practices among the industry. BetMGM, Bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and Penn Entertainment are all collaborating.

According to the launch announcement, the companies involved represent over 85% of the legalised online sports betting and igaming industry in the US. They have pledged more than $20m (£15.8m/€18.5m) to support ROGA’s objectives over the first year of its existence.

Dr Jennifer Shatley will serve as ROGA’s executive director, tapping into her 25 years of experience within the industry and extensive work as an RG executive to facilitate widespread education on the topic.

Shatley’s work with ROGA will take place alongside her role as president of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, as well as her position as a member of t..

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Ohtani: ‘I have never bet on sports or willfully sent money to the bookmaker’

On Monday (25 March), during a press conference regarding the sports betting scandal swirling around his former interpreter, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani vehemently denied that he ever bet on sports, sent money to an illegal bookmaker or “willfully” paid off gambling debts for anyone.

The comments were in response to the news last week that Ohtani’s interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was stealing from him to support a gambling habit.

“I have never bet on baseball or any other sports or have asked anyone to do that for me,” Ohtani said in a prepared statement. “Up until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know this was happening. In conclusion Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies.”

Ohtani appeared with a new interpreter and did not take questions after the statement.

The man who owns baseball’s richest contract – he signed a 10-year, $700m deal with the Dodgers during the off season – was earnest, straightforward and direct in his ..

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More changes proposed to Georgia wagering bills; vote planned Wednesday

Georgia's House Higher Education Committee further kicked a package of sports betting bills down the road today (25 March) and still does not have consensus on how tax revenue would be spent.

On Wednesday (27 March) the committee will likely vote on whether or not to increase the tax rate in the package of bills from 20% to 25%, eliminate promotional deductions for operators and change where funding is directed as Georgia sports betting legislation continues to be a hot topic.

But multiple sources on the ground in Georgia aren’t hopeful that the online wagering package will pass through the general assembly with just three legislative days remaining.

House sponsor Marcus Wiedower said he would provide committee members with updated language that includes the tax increase, promotional deduction change and a new breakdown of how the funds would be spent, before that meeting.

Earlier versions of the proposals have been approved by the senate, and senate sponsor Bill Cowsert sa..

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India government cracks down on celebrities advertising offshore gambling

India’s ministry of information and broadcasting has warned celebrities and influencers against advertising offshore online operators on social media, stating they could face penal action for doing so.

The ministry’s advisory explained that those with influence in India are prohibited from advertising illegal gambling operators in a surrogate manner. Those who do risk facing “rigorous scrutiny”.

Under the current system, the Indian government can issue notifications to intermediaries such as social media platforms to remove access to posts advertising illegal operators.

Beyond that, celebrities and influencers could also face proceedings under the 2019 Consumer Protection Act. This could lead to social media accounts being disabled, while further penal action can also be administered under applicable statutes.

The advisory highlighted the “significant financial and socio-economic implications of online betting” as reasons not to promote offshore operators.

CCPA warns celebrities o..

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Louisiana sports betting handle hits $274.8m in February

Players in Louisiana spent $274.8m (£217.8m/€254.0m) betting on sports in February, an increase on last year but 20.7% behind January’s total.

Combined online and retail handle for February was 39.0% ahead of $197.7m in the same month last year. However, it fell short of the $346.3m wagered in January 2024, meaning the Louisiana market shrank for the second consecutive month.

Online betting accounted for $253.1m of all activity in February, with retail wagers reaching $21.7m.

Turning to revenue, for the market as a whole, this amounted to $25.1m. This was 30.7% up from $19.2m in February 2023 but 35.5% short of $38.9m in January.

Revenue from online sports betting totalled $24.3m, with retail’s share at $780,013 for the month.

As for tax, Louisiana generated $3.6m from online wagering and $128,140 retail betting.

Year-to-date handle exceeds $2.20bn in Louisiana

Looking at the state’s year-to-date performance, total handle for the eight months through to the end of February was $..

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State of the Union: A look back at the week that was in the US

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

As the world of sports betting continues move at warp speed, we’re doing our best to keep up and keep you in the know.

Cavaliers coach: Gambler threatened me

Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff told reporters on 20 March that a gambler had tracked down his phone number and sent “crazy messages about where I live, my kids and all that stuff”.

As reported by the Associated Press, Bickerstaff went on to say that he had shared the information with stadium security. The gambler was located and escorted out of Rocket Mortgage Field House. The coach did not press charges.

Last summer Ohio’s regulator was given increased powers to deal with bettors who threaten athletes when Governor Mike DeWine included language in his budget that would allow the Ohio Casino Control Commission to issue a lifetime ban to harassers. It was..

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Heavily amended Minnesota wagering bill gets out of committee

Minnesota Representative Zack Stephenson revamped his HF 2000, adding daily fantasy sports, allowing for electronic pull-tabs, and doubling the proposed tax as a legal sports betting bill began moving through the house on 21 March.

Stephenson has been championing legal statewide digital sports betting for at least three years.

The A-21 amendment passed 8-4 with the bill approved 8-5 and it is now headed to the tax committee. There is no crossover deadline in Minnesota, which is set to adjourn 20 May. But if sports betting isn’t legalised this session lawmakers will have to craft new bills for the 2025 session as bills do not carry over.

Minnesota lawmakers have been trying to legalise sports betting since 2018. In 2022, Stephenson was able to get his bill through the house, but not the senate.

A key issue has been whether or not the state’s horse tracks should be included in offering wagering. A senate bill that has been through six committees does include the horse tracks and no..

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