State of the Union: Status of ESPN Bet in NY, North Caroline retail, OK bill coming?

31st December 1969

ESPN Bet about to get closer to NY launch?

The New York State Gaming Commission Monday (23 September) will consider Penn Entertainment’s application to take over the WynnBet New York licence. The plan has been in the works since WynnBet exited the New York market earlier this year. Should Penn get approval, it will be able to launch its ESPN Bet platform in the biggest competitive market in the US. New York law caps the number of platforms at nine. Licences only come available if a company exits the state.

Penn executives on the company’s second-quarter earnings call pointed to a September launch, potentially by the start of football season. Should the regulator approve the licence transfer, Penn will still have a few steps to take before it could launch ESPN Bet.

Every major US operator is live in New York other than Penn.

Retail wagering coming to North Carolina?

At its Wednesday (18 September) meeting, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission announced a notice of proposed rule making for parimutuel wagering. It also opened a 30-day public-comment window for brick-and-mortar sports betting rules.

The lottery’s sports betting committee previously approved both expansions and recommended them to the commission. During the meeting, the commission did not provide a timetable for the start of parimutuel betting. On the retail wagering front, the public-comment period closes 18 October. At that point, the commission will then discuss and and potentially adopt any changes and move to approve the rules. North Carolina tribal casinos currently offer in-person betting, but the commercial market went live in March without any retail locations.

In other news, the commission is moving forward with adding esports betting to its bet menu. It approved a petition to add esports, and will vote on that at a meeting 25 September.

Alberta charities worried about expanded gaming

Charities located in Alberta that are funded by revenue from PlayAlberta are concerned an expanded commercial gambling market will cut into their funding, reports the CBC. According to a 16 September story, Michael Thompson, executive director of the Alberta Charitable Casino Operators, said that the Ontario-style model Alberta is considering could have negative repercussions.

Thompson also said that in 2022-23, the province’s current casinos contributed $225m (£168.8m/€201.4m) to local charities.

“The revenues that go to charities are completely dependent on revenues going to private sector casino providers,” he said. “We think the Ontario model will be very damaging to casinos in Alberta and charities will lose out significantly as a result. We think that’s going to be a disaster and they need to take the time to get it right.”

Alberta’s government is moving forward with regulations to allow a legal online gaming market in the province. It would be the second to go live in the country behind Ontario.

Bovada out of three more US states

Offshore sportsbook Bovada this week added three more US states to its “restricted” list. The platform is no longer available in Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, per XL Media.

Bovada, the illegally operated offshore sports betting/gaming company, has added three new states to its restricted list.

Bovada now restricts access in Kansas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania, bringing up the restricted list to 13 states (and Washington, D.C.) pic.twitter.com/iHqfyjDnHz

— RLinnehanXL (@RLinnehanXl) September 17, 2024

Boyd bets on retail books

While digital sports betting and online casino seem to be all the rage, Boyd Gaming is doubling down on brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, writes Howard Stutz in The Nevada Independent. Boyd opened its biggest retail sportsbook to date earlier this year at the off-Strip Suncoast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

“A sportsbook is more than just a place to make wagers,” Boyd VP of race & sports Bob Scucci told the Independent. “At our properties, the sportsbook is the place where people come four or five times a week. It’s where they go to meet their friends and congregate.”

The new sportsbook has a 15-foot-tall wraparound video screen, a 130-foot-long ticker and plenty of plush and comfortable seating. But it has only five teller windows. Why? Because, Thompson said, it is easier for bettors to in-game wager on their phones.

New York City casino a boon for jobs? Maybe not

Wynn Resorts last month rolled out a flashy video and other info about its proposed New York City Hudson Yards casino project. The general gist was that the casino will enhance the neighborhood, create jobs and create housing options. But academics and business experts say, “not so fast.” According to Gothamist, experts say casino projects often force shutdowns of other businesses and could create net job loss.

“It’s actually a slightly negative impact,” Jonathan Krutz, emeritus professor of the College of Business and Economics at Boise State University, told Gothamist. “What my research shows is that if you create a job in a casino, you’re going to essentially cancel out another job that’s in that area — because if I’m living in that area and I’m eating at the restaurants and shopping at the stores, and then I get hooked on gambling and suddenly my money’s going into the slot machine instead of the store [or] restaurant, then the store and the restaurant are going to be selling less.”

Krutz analysed similar situations in a 2022 paper.

The Gothamist story shouldn’t be considered in a vacuum — it’s likely that Krutz’s comments could be applied to any of the 11 bids for the three downstate New York casino licences.

OK senator says he’ll file betting bill

Oklahoma state senator Bill Coleman told News Channel 8 that he plans to file a legal sports betting bill for the 2025 session. Coleman said there is “demand” in the state and that he understands that there could be $150m in state tax revenue.

Coleman’s tax estimate seems skewed as Connecticut, which is slightly smaller by population, took in $19.6m in tax revenue in 2023. Connecticut charges operators at 13.75% tax rate. Kentucky, which is slightly larger by population, has reaped $35.4m in tax revenue through its first 10 months of live, legal wagering. Kentucky taxes operators at 9.75%.

Coleman has previously sponsored legislation, but it seems that until Governor Kevin Stitt is out of office, any expansion of gambling in the state would be on hold. Stitt and the state’s tribes, which have exclusivity for gaming, have long had a rift over what legal betting should look like.

Online casino hopes on the rocks in NH?

The Cordish Companies are proposing a new Live! Casino in the Granite State, and that could spell trouble for online casino efforts. Why? Per Steve Ruddock’s “Straight to the Point” substack, “Cordish is one of the most vocal opponents of online casino efforts in the US and one of the key reasons Maryland’s online casino efforts failed this year. With Cordish in the mix in New Hampshire, the state could shift from a lukewarm short-term candidate to a longshot.”

Cordish is proposing a 60,000-square-foot casino in Salem, which is right on the Massachusetts border. In fact, Salem is about a 40-minute drive to Boston, where Encore Boston Harbor is the only casino in the eastern part of the state. Cordish’s proposal won’t be for a Las Vegas-style casino like Encore, but it does call for 900 historical horse racing machines, more than 40 betting tables, a golf simulator, four restaurants and a sports lounge.

In other news …

An Alabama bill would increase the penalty on illegal gambling operations from a misdemeanor to a felony, reports AL.com. Should the bill pass, illegal gambling operators would face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine for the first offence.

Sportico reported Wednesday (18 September) that Rogers Media is buying out BCE’s 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) for about $3.5bn. The deal will mean Rogers, which already owns 37.5% of MLSE, will now have a 75% stake in the company. MLSE is the parent company of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs and NBA Toronto Raptors. Rogers already owns the MLB Toronto Blue Jays.

Caesars Sportsbook introduced on-site mobile wagering in Washington state at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort, the company announced Thursday (19 September). Patrons can download the Caesars Sportsbook Muckleshoot app and use it anywhere on property.

BetMGM and Gannet Co. Monday (16 September) announced a new digital sports betting and online gambling partnership. BetMGM will now provide odds to Gannet publications, including USA Today.