Captain Gambling: Weekly Industry News Update – 10/04/2020

Welcome to Captain Gambling’s weekly industry news digest, where our experts are here to give you all of the latest updates regarding gambling legislation in the USA. 

This week’s top stories:

• Barstool to launch in NJ
• PointsBet launches in Illinois
• An inside look at the Maryland vote

New Jersey

After launching their first US betting app in Pennsylvania on September 18th, Barstool are looking at expanding their US operations. According to reports, they have set their sites on legally sports betting hotspot New Jersey. However, with 17 online sportsbooks already in operation in NJ, as well as 11 brick and mortar betting shops, breaking to the market there could prove to be a tricky move.

Illinois 

Earlier this week, the Australian based sports betting operator became the 8th retail operator to open up in Illinois. The occasion was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Hawthorne race course just outside of Chicago where retail wagering will be taking place. PointsBet had already started operating online in Illinois on September 12th and last week signed a deal to be the official betting partner of NFL team the Chicago Bears. Additionally, PointsBet have eventual plans to expand into off track sports betting, with retail outlets planned to open in Crestwood, Oakbrook Terrace, and Prospect Heights. All of the aforementioned locations are within 35 miles of downtown Chicago. 

Maryland

As we reported last week here at CaptsainGambling.com, Maryland is among three states set to vote on legal betting in November. Sports betting has received nearly unanimous support in both the Maryland State House and Senate. Additionally, others in support of the motion have put forward the case that revenue made from legal sports betting could be filtered through to help small businesses in the state following difficult times faced from the coronavirus pandemic.