There are new events in the gambling word every day. Some news tends to be very exciting while some are not so captivating. Still, the fact remains that trends in the gambling world are now being reported on the front page of major newspapers around the world. It keeps trending on the internet through social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on. This is why captaingambling have decided to furnish weekly news update, serving you red hot headlines and information on the latest trends in the gambling world. This weekly update will follow the topic “Gambling in the USA.”
Here are the hot headlines trending in the gambling world for this week:
- Draftkings Online Sportsbook Debuts in Pennsylvania
- Unibet Sportsbook Launches at Mohegan Sun Poconos
- Florida Lottery Extends Contract with Scientific Games
- Legalizing Sports Betting in California
- Washington DC Set For Sports Betting
We now move over to the detail.
Draftkings online sportsbook debuts in Pennsylvania
Fantasy sports and sports betting operator,
Draftkings
has launched its online and mobile sportsbook in Pennsylvania. This launch makes Pennsylvania the seventh US state with Draftkings sportsbook and comes after Draftkings expansion into the state of Indiana and West Virginia.
”We have witnessed massive success over the last few years with our sportsbook product and are excited for this significant next step as Draftking extends its arm into Pennsylvania,” stated Draftkings chief executive and co-founder, Jason Robins. “Pennsylvania houses two of the largest sports centers in the world and numerous monumental college programs, with some of the most passionate fan bases of all time.”
“We could not contain our joy to introduce our top-rated online and mobile sportsbook to those fans and provide them with an unparalleled positive betting experience that has become known with Draftking,” further stated Jason Robins.
Unibet Sportsbook launches at Mohegan Sun poconos
Unibet
in partnership with Mohegan Sun Pocono, launches an online sportsbook in Pennsylvania. This launch is Unibet’s second United States sportsbook operation following the launch of its NJ sportsbook.
“We are proud and excited to partner with Mohegan Sun Pocono to welcome bettors to our latest sportsbook and offer a significant extension to our online product in one of the biggest states in the US to license and regulate both online casino, and sports betting” said Manuel Stan, the Kindred US senior vice president.
“We wanted a partner that shares the same dedication with us when it comes to customer values and experience, and we are sure that together we will provide Pennsylvania players with a truly unmatched in-house and modern casino and sports betting experience.”
“We have partnered with one of the global best online sportsbook and casino operators in the online gambling industry, and this will allow us to give the best in class experience to our existing clients and attract new players” added Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment vice president of interactive gaming, Aviram Alroy.
“Introduction of the Unibet offers to the Pennsylvania’s market is a great positive for Mohegan Sun and the state of Pennsylvania”
Florida lottery extends contract with Scientific Games
Florida Lottery extends its contract with Scientific Games until 2027. This seven-year contract extension will see Scientific Games work in conjunction with Florida Lottery to generate over $8.5 billion for education funding in the state. This marks the continuation of a thirty-year partnership that has witnessed the Lottery’s rise to the top 5 lotteries for instant game sales per capita, worldwide. In a release, Florida Lottery stated that it selected Scientific Games for its ability to continuously drive profits for the state with advanced logistics, creative, innovative, high performing scratch card games and retailer optimization.
The contract may be extended for another seven years and this will see Scientific Games roll out its modern generation Scitrak Ultra suite of instant games management tools, analytics and insights, SCIQ intelligent instant game retail ecosystem, including the use of licensed properties like the Monopoly and Loteria in scratch card games.
“We decided to sign a contract that allows us to continue to offer the best games at a relatively low cost to the state” stated Jim Poppell, Florida’s Lottery secretary. “in partnering with Scientific Games, Florida Lottery will continually offer top lottery products, reiterate responsible gaming initiatives and maximize revenue in support of Governor Desantis educational vision for our state”
Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership (SGEP) has partnered Florida Lottery in rolling out instant games for 22 years. This has helped Florida Lottery to perform 52% better than the lottery industry average, with a ten-year average rate of 122%.
According to John Schulz, the Scientific Games senior vice president for lottery instant products, “we are happy that Florida Lottery selects Scientific Games for our awesome ability to cultivate profit to benefit every student in the state of Florida. We will continually provide world-class services to professionally manage the full cycle of Florida’s Lottery instant games, including the best brands that Florida players love”
Legalizing sports betting in California
In a bid to change the state’s constitution to legalize California sports betting, some set of Native American tribes have filed a ballot measure for the 2020 election. This measure does not seem to include online or mobile sports betting, which has always been a continual sticking point for tribal interests. Tribal gaming generates over $8 billion annually in the Golden State, where it enjoys strong constitutional protections. Their desire to get themselves involved in California’s sports betting activities signals a big step forward.
The terms of the measure state that California’s Native American tribal racetracks and casinos would be given the permission to offer retail sports betting. The main restriction seems to be the prohibition of wagering on sporting events participated in the California college team. Tribal casinos will also be allowed to offer roulette and craps in the measure.
Extensive Details on California Sports Betting Proposal
The Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act and California Sports Wagering Regulation would:
- Prohibit the advertising and marketing of sports betting to minors.
- Require pundits to be 21 years old.
- Prohibit wagering on any high school sports or athletic events.
- Strengthen the enforcement of California’s existing gambling laws to grant Californians the right to hold unlawful betting operations accountable via the Private Attorneys General Act
- Authorize the legislature to make provisions for consumer protections and anti-corruption measures to ensure the integrity of sporting events.
- Tax sports betting revenue at 10% and direct money derived from sports wagering to public safety, education, mental health programs, and regulatory costs.
Press Release Made by the Tribe
According to a press release made by the tribes, 18 different tribes in the state of California are in support of the measure, including the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.
“Californians should be given a choice to engage in sports wagering at safe, highly regulated, and experienced gaming location. We are excited and happy to see different tribes across California cooperate for this concerted effort, which represents an incremental and significant step towards giving Californians the freedom to engage in sports betting responsibly,” said chairman Mark Macarro.
Also, Steve Stallings, the Chairman of California Nations Indian Gaming Association said “The tribally sponsored initiative filed today to amend California’s Constitution so as to authorize and regulate sports wagering is the best example of well-written and responsible sports betting policy presented to date. A strong, well-regulated gaming industry is of utmost importance to California’s tribal governments and the public. This initiative allows sports wagering responsibly and provides for transparency and strict regulation.”
What This Means for California Sports Betting
The voicing of the Native American tribe's support for sports betting in California has made the sports betting debate hold more water. Interests in the CA cardrooms, sports leagues, and legislature have all been on their toes trying to push the legalization of sports betting through. But it is evident that without the support of the tribes, the legislation goes nowhere.
The issue that this ballot measure may have is suffering the same stalemate as that seen over the years on online poker. The cardrooms, tracks, and tribes have never seen eyeball to eyeball when it comes to online gambling, and the fear is seeing sports betting suffer the same fate.
The non-inclusion of cardrooms will create a bitter division over the legalization, and the road to legalizing California sports betting seems exceptionally complicated.
Although, legislative efforts for the legalization is worth applauding there is still an expanse of space between legal betting and this ballot measure.
Not Enough to Combat Illegal Sports Betting
If this ballot measure for sports betting works out, the tribes will have exclusive rights over legal sports betting in California. But with the exemption of mobile or online betting, the state will not be doing enough to combat the vast illegal market at an offshore sportsbook.
Of course, having legal sportsbooks at racetracks and casinos will rack in substantial revenue, but it is still low when compared to the existing offshore market.
Washington DC set for sports betting
Sportsbooks in Washington DC have been given the green light to set their bet limits, and there is now a better explanation and definition for the two-block exclusion zone around pro sports facilities. Those two fundamental changes were made by the Office of the Lottery and Charitable Games to its proposed regulations after response to stakeholders’ concerns.
The final sports betting rules have been adopted by the OLG and the new regulations were published in the August 30 issue of the D.C. Register. With these new rules, sportsbooks may go live with sports betting in Washington DC sometime within the first quarter of 2020. The DC Lottery’s mobile sports betting app is set to launch in January 2020.
Several class B and professional sports venues may offer mobile betting and retail sportsbooks in places under specific terms, while the DC’s online app, sanctioned by the council, will be the only app available throughout the city.
The OLG said that it received over 120 public statements within the thirty days between June and July and that the regulations are effective immediately. The remaining step will be to open the licensing process for possible vendors.
“There is no absolute date for the process to begin, but once it starts, it should take like 30 to 45 days from the receipt of an application until a provisional license is granted or denied. The granting of a permanent license could take up to six months” said an OLG spokesperson.
Explanation Given For the Change
In the proposed rules, which were legislated upon earlier this summer, regulators demanded that they should be permitted to determine bet limits for individual sports bookies. In response to the demand, the regulation was changed to allow sportsbook operators to set their bet limits, both maximum and minimum.
There are different license types in the regulations, but the most talked about is class A and class B license. The class A license may be issued at Capital One Arena, St Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena, Audi Field, and National Park, while class B licenses are for other operators in the city. Any sportsbook given a class B license can only offer sports wagering services within the ‘physical confines of the licensed location’, and not within the two block exclusion zone. Class B sportsbook can also offer sports betting at hotels, restaurants or bars.
The new regulations permits Class A operators to offer internet and mobile sports betting if ‘the transaction is received or initiated’ within the physical confines of an authorized sports betting facility or within two blocks of the venue while a Class B operator can only offer internet and mobile sports betting if the transaction is received or initiated within the physical confines of the sport betting premises but not within the two block exclusion zone.
No official league data
The Lottery failed to authorize the use of official league data, as demanded by the Nationals during the statement period. Although there is no authority, the OLG made some arrangements in terms of data and writing.
