Unwanted Attention
With the Super Bowl approaching, the US sports betting industry is a hot topic with the mainstream press.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Sports betting gets some unwanted attention ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
LOOSE ENDS: NY Assemblyman sours on online casinos; Labor opposes NY iGaming; Iowa iCasino Unlikely in 2024; Caesars announces NC launch date.
NEWS: PredictIt’s election betting case against the CFTC moved to DC.
NEWS: The Massachusetts sports betting exodus continues as WynnBet joins Betr in leaving the market.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Is poker a window into the soul?
STRAY THOUGHTS: Against the grain.
Outside the Lines Takes Aim at Sports Betting
Yesterday, I reported on the upcoming 60 Minutes segment on sports betting, but that segment will have plenty of competition, as ESPN’s Outside the Lines will air a four-part series on SportsCenter titled ALL IN – Sports Betting in the US.
Following its initial airing, the series will then be available on YouTube.
“The main thrust of the program will be looking at the world of sports betting since PASPA was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. The series is hosted by Jeremy Schaap with reporting by Schaap, John Barr, and David Purdum.”
Per a press release from ESPN, the four parts will be broken up as follows:
Part 1: The State of Sports Betting in the US, Thursday, Feb. 1
Part 2: Isaiah Rodgers Sr. [suspended by the NFL for betting], Friday, Feb. 2
Part 3: What Happens in Vegas… [Super Bowl LVIII is the first in Sin City], Saturday, Feb. 3
Part 4: The Risks of Sports Gambling, Sunday, Feb. 4
To put it mildly, these gambling exposés are typically one-sided and paint the industry (and, in this case, the activity of sports betting) in a negative light. ESPN has a vested interest in not going entirely negative (ESPN Bet). Still, we don’t know what partitions exist between the editorial division at Outside the Lines and ESPN Bet.
The question is, will this coverage be forgotten in a week (after the Super Bowl), or will it linger on, like the New York Times articles from late 2022, and get resurrected as a talking point in statehouses and perhaps Congress, as Matt Perrault fears, for years to come?
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Loose Ends: NY iGaming Hopes Dwindle; Iowa iCasino Unlikely in 2024; Caesars Preps for NC Launch
New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow is pessimistic about online casinos, and not just in 2024. “More than likely, it won’t be in the Assembly one-house [budget]. It wouldn’t be for a lack of trying; that’s just how things shake out,” Pretlow told Play USA. “It’s probably not happening in 2025 unless there is a serious budget shortfall. The powers that be on the second floor [executive offices, including the governor’s office] really aren’t gung ho on gaming.”
NY Labor is also not on board, despite a potential $25 million stipend added to the latest proposal. “At the end of the day, our organization has one job, and it’s to increase the standard of living in New York state through the creation and preservation of exceptionally good jobs in the gaming industry,” Bhav Tibrewal, political director for the Hotel Trades Council told Play USA. “When you consider it from that perspective, you understand it’s our job to be skeptical of a proposal like this where, no matter how you cut it, it is not a job creator.”
Yet another state is pulling the plug on online casino legalization in 2024: Iowa. State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann told Bonus.com that 2024 is shaping up to be an education year, “I do not think the votes are there this year.” The legislation, HSB 227, can carry over from last year but is unlikely to be acted on.
Caesars has announced its plans to launch in North Carolina on March 11 through its two tribal partners, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel. That brings the number of sportsbooks prepping for the March 11 launch to eight.
PredictIt Case Against the CFTC Moved to DC
Election betting site PredictIt’s lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is being transferred from the Western District Court of Texas to the DC District Court.
US District Judge David Alan Ezra pointed to the Western District’s “heavy docket” as the impetus for the transfer, as it “would prevent this case from proceeding to resolution in a more expeditious manner than would be in the DC District.”
John Holden, an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University, tweeted the following about the transfer, “I expect the CFTC to get a lot more deference in D.C. than what they saw at the Fifth Circuit.”
The case stems from the following:
“PredictIt was issued a no-action letter from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2014, making it the second such no-action letter, along with the Iowa Electronic Markets run by the University of Iowa. That letter was revoked in August 2022, which led to the current legal case.”
PredictIt’s initial call for an injunction against the CFTC was denied by the Western District Court of Texas, but the Fifth District Court overturned that ruling in a 2-1 decision. It will now head to the DC District Court.
You can read my deep dive into election betting in the US here.
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Another Massachusetts Sportsbook Pulls the Plug
WynnBet has submitted a notice of intent to cease operations to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. WynnBet joins Betr, which has also announced its plans to wind down its Massachusetts operation.
According to the February 1 meeting agenda, the MGC will vote on both requests:
“Betr Notice of Intent to Cease Operations pursuant to 205 CMR 258, including Request for Approval of Cessation Plan and Request for Waiver from 205 CMR 258.01(1) – Carrie Torrisi, Deputy General Counsel VOTE”
“WynnBET Notice of Intent to Cease Operations pursuant to 205 CMR 258, including Request for Approval of Cessation Plan and Request for Waiver from 205 CMR 258.01(1) – Carrie Torrisi, Deputy General Counsel VOTE”
Wynn has been slowly exiting sports betting-only markets since August 2023 when it announced it would be exiting eight states, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, while evaluating New York, Michigan, Nevada, and Massachusetts.
“In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders,” Julie Cameron-Doe, Chief Financial Officer of Wynn Resorts said in a press release at the time.
Betr counterbalanced its exodus from Massachusetts with news of launches in three other states: Colorado, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
CEO Joey Levy explained the moves as a tradeoff between “a 7 million population state for over 23 million in the net new states for collectively less economics than it would have required to renew in Massachusetts alone.”
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
What can poker tell you about a person’s character? That was a recent topic on X.
The conversation was started by Alex Scott, the president of WPT Global, who responded to a Marc Cuban tweet about not playing poker with the following:
Opinions varied (the entire conversation thread is pretty interesting).
My own opinion is poker is an excellent way to get a feel for someone. Still, it’s also a game of incomplete information where deception is rewarded, and actions have ulterior motives. It tells you nothing about how someone works with others, and outside of extreme examples (blatant cheaters), it only gives a glimpse at their overall moral code, as their poker code may not align with other aspects of their lives.
Where it does help is how people treat dealers and other players, handle good/bad streaks, and deal with boredom.
It can also give you a window into yourself. With a little self-reflection, you can learn a lot about yourself (risk tolerance, handling pressure, etc.) by playing poker.
Stray Thoughts
“The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.”
This quote is commonly attributed to Albert Einstein, but there is no evidence he said it. It’s still a very good message and something we should all be mindful of.
And no, there is no mention of the Lebron James-DraftKings announcement today. That was not an oversight.