The Verdict Is In
A new report from Spectrum Gaming concludes that Wyoming would benefit from online gambling as it is accretive to existing forms of gambling.
The Bulletin Board
VIEWS: Wyoming report concludes online gambling is accretive; calls for a uniform gambling age.
LOOSE ENDS: Bally’s shareholders accept purchase offer; Betly migrates to PlayTech; MO sports betting update.
VIEWS: Do the Poarch Creek Indians hold the keys to Alabama’s gambling kingdom?
BEYOND the HEADLINE: AL lawmakers weigh in on gambling expansion.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: BetMGM is the #1 online poker site in the US.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Roam if you want to, roam around the world.
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Wyoming Report Paints Online Gambling as Additive
Spectrum Gaming’s report on Wyoming gambling expansions was released on November 15, and like many such reports, it painted online gambling as a terrific opportunity for the state.
According to the report, Wyoming online casinos could generate $93 million to $138 million in their first year. The state could pull in $20 million in tax revenue with a moderate tax rate of 20%.
The report also found little evidence of demand shift (what we used to call cannibalization). It used West Virginia as the closest comparison to Wyoming’s existing gambling industry.
While it found no erosion of existing gambling following the introduction of online gambling in West Virginia, it did conclude that “it could be argued that the growth in the gaming market is being absorbed by the iCasino sector.”
“The recently released Spectrum gaming study is just the latest to find that iGaming doesn’t steal revenue from land-based gaming but complements it,” Jeff Ifrah, Co-Founder and General Counsel, iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA), said in a statement to STTP.
“In addition, legal, regulated iGaming creates consumer protections and more tax dollars for the state — neither of which exists in Wyoming’s current unregulated iGaming market,” Ifrah said. “The highly pervasive illegal sites that Wyoming’s residents are already accessing pose significant risks to players and offer no tax revenue to the state. Now is the time for Wyoming to embrace the future, protect its residents, and reap the rewards.”
I’m 100% on board with the “embrace the future” aspect of this, but as I’ve been writing, arguing iGaming doesn’t impact land-based gaming is becoming a tougher sell.
So, where does this leave Wyoming heading into 2025?
The favorable report will undoubtedly keep an online casino discussion going in 2025. That said, Wyoming isn’t exactly a progressive state when it comes to gambling, and it will also have multiple stakeholders to appease (two tribes that operate four tribal casinos, three racetracks, a dozen off-track betting parlors, and four mobile betting operators).
Still, as one lawmaker who supports online casino legalization, Wyoming Rep. Robert Davis, told Play USA, “I think it’s good we’re doing this, and they’ll be surprised with what the study will yield as far as that this is already occurring in Wyoming and what kind of revenue we can produce by regulating it.”
Loose Ends: Bally’s Shareholders Accept Offer; Betly Migrates to PlayTech; MO Sports Betting Update
Bally’s shareholders approve takeover by Standard General: Bally’s shareholders have accepted an offer by Standard General to acquire the company for $18.25 per share. Note: Standard General is not taking the company private; shareholders can roll over their shares into the new company. Per a press release: “At the Company Effective Time, the Rolling Company Shares will remain outstanding, and it is expected that such shares will revert to the original ‘BALY’ ticker symbol.”
Delaware North is migrating its Betly online gambling sites to PlayTech: Delaware North has announced it will migrate its online gambling platform to PlayTech, beginning with the recently launched Betly Ohio sportsbook and later in Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Delaware North recently appointed industry veteran Lee Terfloth as Chief Interactive Gaming Officer, who said, “We are very pleased to partner with Playtech to provide Betly customers with an enhanced mobile sports betting and online casino experience powered by an industry leader.”
Missouri sports betting ballot measure close to a done deal: After a brief scare, it looks like Missouri’s sports betting ballot initiative will finish with more than enough votes to pass and hopefully enough not to entice a recount effort.
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Tribe Positions Itself for Alabama Gambling Expansions
Alabama is one of the more intriguing expansion states heading into 2025. While most of the attention is on the state’s efforts to authorize a lottery and expand casino gambling, sports betting is kicking around in the background.
As I previously noted, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has hired some high-profile lobbyists to make sure a gambling expansion package doesn’t leave the tribe out in the cold.
PCI, via Wind Creek Hospitality, is acquiring the Birmingham Racecourse, which currently offers parimutuel and historical horse racing machines. The acquisition makes it much harder for a gambling expansion package to disfavor PCI.
As Light & Wonder’s Howard Glaser put it on LinkedIn, “While I’m not making any prediction, this acquisition does present a potentially smoother path to gaming legalization in Alabama.”
Backing up Glaser’s comment was this bit of reporting from CBS 42:
“Political Analyst Steve Flowers said there is more to the story with the Poarch Creek’s purchase of the Birmingham Racecourse and Casino. “This move tells me they’re getting ready to move,” said Flowers. “And if they get out of the way or get behind casino gambling, it’ll pass. “It won’t pass with the governor’s strength. The governor doesn’t have the strength the casinos do.””
Beyond the Headline: Alabama Lawmakers Weigh In
Meanwhile, the sponsor of last year’s gambling expansion bill in the Alabama Senate expects ongoing discussion but is bearish on the state’s chances in 2025, but it’s not off the table.
Per CBS 42, State Sen. Greg Albritton said the only way to counter the current spate of illegal gambling is to “try to grasp control of that industry so we can protect the public and be a beneficiary of it.”
But, after 2024’s efforts fizzled out, Albritton says finding lawmakers willing to sponsor a comprehensive gambling package will be more difficult. “Going from a lottery only to the comprehensive plan, to everything in between- and we haven’t been able to garnish the votes in both houses,” Albritton explained.
Rep. Sam Jones, who sponsored the House gambling expansion package last session, is ready to revisit gambling expansions, but he said the discussions would require working with other groups, like the Poarch Creek Indians.
“I don’t know if we really addressed everything they’d like to see. But you know, I think that those discussions can continue. I don’t see any reasons why they shouldn’t continue,” said Jones. “Since they’re already in the business here in the state.”
The question, as I asked in the title of this newsletter, is whether PCI is ready to get behind a gambling expansion package.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
After linking its Michigan and New Jersey online poker sites, BetMGM has skyrocketed to the top of the US market, as noted by Pokerfuse’s Nick Jones on X.
This is a significant and unexpected (at least to me) development in the legal US online poker space. Per the Poker Industry Pro article (paywalled):
“The newly formed BetMGM US network averaged 267 concurrent cash game seats over the last seven days. To compare, PokerStars, which also spans Michigan and NJ, averaged 157, while WSOP Online, which also operates in Nevada, averaged 151. It gives BetMGM a market share of 46%.”
Stray Thoughts
The answer is yes. As I retweeted:
