State of the Union: Bet the coin flip in MA, Ohio lawmakers aren’t for doubling the tax, more

31st December 1969

MA regulator to allow Super Bowl coin flip bets

A year after voting not to allow bets on the Super Bowl coin flip, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) Thursday (6 February) reversed itself. Operators in the state can now offer the bet ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Since last year, former MGC chair Cathy Judd-Stein retired and commissioner Paul Broduer joined. Broduer, who said “it’s not something that can be gamed, so I’m comfortable moving forward with this,” was the swing vote.

The commission also agreed to hold an adjudicatory hearing for Caesars Sportsbook. The company took bets on the total number of red cards during UEFA Euros 2024. MGC regulations prohibit bets on penalties, injuries and other things that could be manipulated. Caesars took six bets totalling $8,270 (£6,661/€8,006). The bets were discovered during an MGC sports wagering division review.

In addition, the MGC sent two matters to its Investigation Enforcement Bureau for further review. Caesars, according to the commission, was out of compliance for the state’s knowledge-based authentication question requirements between 1 September 2023-9 April 2024. The other investigation will be into Penn Sports Interactive. That company allegedly sent marketing materials to people who had self-excluded. Penn, which operators ESPN Bet, self-reported the violation after it was flagged by a regulator in another state.

Illinois bans some Super Bowl bets

On the eve of the Super Bowl, the Illinois Gaming Board Thursday banned bets around player conduct, negative outcomes, and other pre-determined bets, per Casino Reports. The prohibition was enacted following a request from the NFL. Most states allow sports governing bodies to request betting bans on certain markets.

On the list of bets now prohibited in Illinois:

Player injuries
Player misconduct
First play (i.e. run or pass)
Missed field goal or extra point
First QB pass an incompletion
Officiating assignments
Fan safety

It will also be illegal to create markets or make wagers that can “hurt consumers, players, and game integrity.”

FanDuel: Almost half of consumers use RG tools

Ahead of the Super Bowl, FanDuel Friday (7 February) shared that nearly half of its customers used its “My Spend” responsible gambling tool during the 2024-25 NFL season. The dashboard allows players to review their spending and playing habits. FanDuel wrote in a press release that 3.5 million players used the service.

With My Spend, customers can look at weekly deposit and betting activity, including winnings. FanDuel is now releasing a second RG tool, “Deposit Alerts.” That tool will allow consumers to set daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits. An alert will be sent out when the limit is reached.

Ohio lawmakers oppose doubling betting tax

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine 3 February stunned the gambling industry by announcing his goal of doubling the legal sports betting tax for the second time in less than two years. Should DeWine’s plan become law, operators would pay a 40% tax on gross gaming revenue.

The state initially had one of the lowest digital wagering taxes in the US (10%). At 40%, it would be the second-priciest competitive market for betting companies to do business in. New York, with a 51% tax, is the highest. Since last summer, Illinois operators have been taxed on a sliding scale between 20%-40%.

But the industry might catch a break in Ohio. Lawmakers aren’t all-in with DeWine’s proposal.

“We’ve not even finished two football seasons, and now we’re talking about quadrupling that tax?” Republican Representative Brian Stewart told Cleveland.com 4 February. “I think that’s going to generate a lot of discussion. I don’t think anything’s dead on arrival, but I do think that any time you’re talking about tax increases in the Republican Party, that’s going to get a skeptical eyebrow raise.”

Said Republican Representative Bride Rose Sweeney: “We are still realizing what that actually means to the (sports betting) industry. So, I think we have a lot more vetting (to do).”

On Monday, when DeWine’s proposal became public, gaming consultant Brendan Bussmann told iGB, “We have known since day one that DeWine has hated sports betting. He apparently failed Economics 101. Definitely a head-scratcher for a Republican that continually thinks doubling the tax on a business not once, but twice, is a logical answer.”

It appears Ohio legislators agree.

Digital betting moves in MS

The Mississippi House of Representatives 3 February approved HB 1302, a bill that would allow for statewide digital sports betting. The bill was transmitted to the Senate 4 February. Similar legislation stalled in that chamber in 2024.

According to the Sun-Herald, bill sponsor Casey Eure told the house that Mississippi “leads the nation in illegal online sports betting on Google searches.” He also said that in states with a legal framework, law enforcement can fight illegal operators and fewer are active. In addition, he pointed to lost revenue for Mississippi, which is surrounded by legal sports betting states.

“But most notable … to Mississippi is our neighbouring states,” he said in introducing the bill. Eure then shared the reported annual tax revenue for Kentucky ($35 million), Louisiana ($64 million), North Carolina ($96 million) and Tennessee ($97 million). “So that just goes to show you that we’re losing a lot of tax revenue to these online sports betting, illegal sports betting sites like Bovada,” he said.

Eure’s bill is updated from the 2024 version. In the 2025 proposal, funding accounts by credit cards would be prohibited. In addition, each land-based casino would be entitled to partner with two digital platforms instead of one.

Eure also addressed fears of cannibalisation, which are prevalent among medium to small casinos. HB 1032 includes a $6 million fund that will be used to supplement smaller casinos that see a dip in land-based revenue in the first five years that digital betting is live.

The state legislature is scheduled to be in session until 6 April.

New AL senate president says he’s open to gambling

The Alabama state Senate 5 February unanimously selected Garlan Gudger as its new president pro tem. And that could bode well for the chances of a gambling expansion. Gudger told the media site AL.com that he is concerned that Alabama is losing money to legal gambling states. But he also said that he won’t rubber stamp a gambling expansion.

“So I’m going to have to look at that bill whenever it does get filed, or if it gets filed,” he told AL.com. “And then from that, we’ll take it apart piece by piece and make sure it’s the right thing to do for Alabama.”

Governor Kay Ivey did not address gambling in her state of the state address 4 February. She has previously been open to adding gaming to the Alabama landscape.

Retail betting only in Georgia?

Per Casino Report s 5 February, a Georgia resolution that would send the decision to allow in-person sports betting and casino to voters dropped. According to the bill, a minimum of eight casino licences would be available. Both sports betting and casino gaming would be taxed at 20% of gross gaming revenue.

The proposal specifically bans “off-site casino gambling activities.” It would also create a new gaming commission. According to SR 131, the first $2 billion in tax revenue would be split among Georgia counties. Five percent of tax revenue would be earmarked for problem and responsible gambling initiatives.

The question that would be posed to voters reads:
( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General

( ) NO Assembly to provide by law for the operation and regulation of sports betting and casino gambling activities in this state?

The proposal needs a two-thirds majority to pass in both chambers and would go on the November 2026 ballot.

Licence pulled ahead of Super Bowl

A Maine retail sportsbook is at odds with the state regulator, which pulled its licence. According to N ews Center Maine, the “licence was what’s called a Commercial Track licence. It was issued five months ago because (Michael Cianchette) owns a horse racing track in Cumberland. He claims the state told him the licence was transferable and would also cover Oddfellahs in Portland.” But the Gambling Control Unit denied the licence, saying Oddfellahs isn’t a commercial track, and cannot use the same licence.

The licence was pulled just ahead of the single-biggest sports betting day of the year. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will face off in the Super Bowl Sunday (9 February).

In other news …

Monumental Sports Network rolled out odds and gamification options for the NBA Washington Wizards and NHL Washington Capitals on its Monumental+ app, per a company press release 3 February. The platform is the first local media rights holder to offer this type of interactive viewing experience outside of Las Vegas. It is also the first of its kind for the NBA.

Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire Pat Holberg was fired 3 February for sharing his online gambling accounts with a friend, per the Associated Press. Results of an MLB investigation showed that Holberg did not bet on or “manipulate” games. It did reveal that Holberg’s friend placed 141 baseball bets during an 18-month span. The friend wagered nearly $214,000, and won about $35,000.

Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) chair Jan Zimmerman told KSHB that draft sports betting rules have been sent to the governor’s office for approval. The MGC declined to release the draft rules to iGB. It did confirm by e-mail 4 February that the agency is aiming for a June launch. Once the rules are approved by Governor Mike Kehoe’s office and the secretary of state’s office, a 30-day public comment will open.

MLB and Sportradar Friday (7 February) announced that MLB has acquired an equity stake in Sportradar and the companies are extending their partnership. Sportradar will now distribute MLB’s ultra-low latency official data and media content.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection Gaming Division Thursday (6 February) sent out a notice warning consumers about “illegal gambling machines designed to steal your money.” According to the release, the illegal machines have been cropping up across the state. They pay out only 66% of the time as compared to the required 80% at regulated casinos.

Worth the read …

A whale on Polymarket showed how prediction markets can be manipulated. Front Office Sports dives into how one person moved the odds of Josh Allen being named the NFL’s MVP from 53%-94% in an hour. Read the full story here.