Tag: Betting Roundup

Colorado voters narrowly approved a proposition to legalize sports betting in the state last week.

DD will legalize sports betting in Colorado and create a 10 percent tax on casinos’ house winnings that would largely benefit Colorado’s Water Plan. Colorado’s 33 casinos will be able to offer in-person and online wagering on professional, collegiate, motor and Olympic sports on May 1, 2020.

For the interested, the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies play that night.

Backers of Prop DD were counting on Coloradans’ previous willingness to approve “sin taxes.” Casinos and FanDuel spent more than $2 million on their unopposed campaign and are barely squeaking by.

Bad ballot language could be a culprit, but it may also be an indication that Colorado isn’t enamored with every vice. The state has a long history of taking a limited approach to gambling. Colorado casinos are sequestered in three mountain towns with low bet limits. And past casino expansion efforts aimed at Aurora have been rejected.

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Professional sports bettor James Holzhauer returned to Jeopardy! this week in a Tournament of Champions.

Ever unflappable, Holzhauer held the lead throughout the game, ending the first round with the highest score on the podium: $5,000. Then, going into Final Jeopardy, Holzhauer racked up $37,412 to Boettcher’s $13,200 and Barcomb’s $7,800. Unlike a regular-season “Jeopardy!” game, which is just a single night, whichever contestant has the most money cumulatively at the end of Friday’s game will take home the $250,000 Tournament of Champions grand prize — and bragging rights.

Holzhauer and Boettcher both aced the final question, ending the first night of play with $49,326 and $26,400, respectively. Barcomb, meanwhile, still has $1,800 going into Friday night’s game.

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Millions of dollars shifted hands during the improbable ending of last weekend’s Chiefs-Titans game.

The end result — the Titans winning 35-32 — was met with groans from the majority of bettors. Caesars Sportsbook estimated Tennessee’s comeback produced a mid-six-figure swing in favor of the house. Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology, and New Jersey sportsbook PointsBet experienced similar swings in their favor.

Nationwide, bookmakers estimated, easily more than $10 million shifted on the game.

“While it’s a bit difficult to exactly pinpoint the swing, as a great deal of our liability on that game was tied up in parlays, we can confidently say that it was close to a half a million dollars,” Patrick Eichner of sportsbook PointsBet told ESPN.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

“Mattress Mack” lost millions of dollars in wagers he placed on the Houston Astros to win the World Series. The Astros lost 6-2 in Game 7 to the Washington Nationals.

The Houston mattress mogul spread multi-million dollar betting tickets on the hometown Astros to win the World Series to act as a hedge for a store-wide refund of up to $3,000 he offered to his customers if the Astros won the title.

The Washington Nationals took down the Astros 6-2 in Game 7 on Wednesday, and McIngvale watched his hedge melt into losses by the millions — he told USA TODAY Sports he estimates his losses between $12-14 million.

“The ball didn’t bounce our way. Kudos to the Nats, they played a great series and have a great team,” McIngvale, 68, said. “The Astros are a great team and had a great series. One team had to win and one team had to lose. It had to be us, but we will live to play another day.”

 

The Astros are favored to win the World Series in 2020.

Houston Astros fans who saw their team suffer the biggest World Series upset in 29 years have something to look forward to: The Astros, for now, are the favorites to win next year’s World Series.

At 4-1, the Astros are the favorites at Caesars Sportsbook to win the 2020 World Series, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, who are each 5-1, and the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, who are each 10-1.

Houston fell to the Washington Nationals 6-2 in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday night. The Nationals were nearly 2-1 underdogs to the Astros in the series, making their victory the largest World Series upset since the Cincinnati Reds took down the Oakland Athletics as +260 underdogs in 1990.

The Nationals, who captured the franchise’s first World Series, hold the sixth-highest odds to win next year’s title at 14-1, along with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs.

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The Michigan House of Representatives approved 10 bills that would legalize and regulate sports betting in the state.

An 8.75 percent tax would be collected on sports bets, and the city of Detroit could also collect an additional 3.25 percent tax under the plan.

For non-sports online gambling, the tax rate would be phased in over time – starting between 4 and 19 percent in the first three years, rise to a range of 6 to 21 percent in the fourth year and be between 8 and 23 percent after five years. Taxes would be calculated based on how much money a casino generates from online gambling.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Brandt Iden, the lead sponsor on the package, said in a statement the bills would bring Michigan up to speed with what other states are doing, and provide additional consumer protections to people already participating in sports betting or online gambling.

“We are making great progress on this plan to move sports betting and gaming into a safer, regulated, and modern environment – but we are falling behind other states and we must move forward,” said Iden, R-Oshtemo Twp. “The longer we delay, the longer we put our citizens at risk, and the longer we miss out on economic benefits and needed revenue for schools and public services.”

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A ballot measure will be presented to Colorado voters on whether or not to legalize sports betting.

“I’m hopeful the Colorado voter takes the time to do the research and they come to the conclusion they should pass this,” said House Majority Leader Garnett.

“I think if they take that time and realize that this tax is only on the people placing bets on sports and legalizes something that is currently being done illegally,” said Casino exec Farahi, “I think they’ll pass it.”

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College basketball season tips off next week and Gonzaga has the highest regular season win total.

The Bulldogs’ win total for the regular season opened at 27.5. Memphis is next at 26.5, followed by Duke and Michigan State, each at 25.5.

Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova opened at 24.5, followed by Kansas at 24. Defending national champion Virginia opened at 23.5, with Louisville, Ohio State and Texas Tech at 22.5.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has emerged as a 5-to-4 co-favorite to win the Heisman. Before the season, his odds were as high as 200-to-1.

“Burrow is the biggest liability of the guys who can win it,” John Murray, executive director for the SuperBook, told ESPN. “[The liability] was close to six figures at one point.”

 

One LSU fan risked $50 to win $10,000 on Burrow before the season.

This week, his gambling outfit offered him $3,865.38 to cash out his bet. It has since dropped to $3,500. Take the money and run? Or let it ride for a potential bigger check? “I feel like I’m playing ‘Deal or No Deal’ or ‘Let’s Make a Deal,’” he laughs during an interview this week from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The decision is made even more difficult because of what lies ahead for the No. 2-ranked Tigers (7-0) and their star quarterback. LSU hosts No. 9 Auburn (6-1) on Saturday and after a bye week travels to top-ranked Alabama (7-0). Those are arguably the two toughest defenses Burrow will face in the 2019 regular season.

Porter isn’t cashing out his bet—at least not yet. “What fun is gambling if you don’t go along for the ride?” says Porter, an LSU season ticket holder who moved from Illinois to Baton Rouge at age 20 and fell in love with the Tigers. “The original plan was I was going to hold it to ’Bama week to see what the offer was at that time. When I put that plan in place in my head, I didn’t picture Joe as the frontrunner.” But here he is, at many sportsbooks, the favorite to win college football’s most prestigious individual honor eight weeks into the season. Burrow is a 6-to-5 favorite at Westgate, a Las Vegas-based sportsbook and one of the most respected in the world. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts is next (7-5), followed by Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (7-2) and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (10-1).

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The Los Angeles Lakers had more money bet on them to win the NBA championship than any other team.

“We’ve taken a lot of large wagers on the Lakers, just continuous support on them,” Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk and head NBA oddsmaker for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, told ESPN.

Five-figure bets on the Lakers have been showing up since the summer. Sherman said he took a $10,000 bet on the Lakers on June 15, shortly before news broke that superstar Anthony Davis was headed to Los Angeles to join LeBron James. William Hill also reported taking big bets ($10,000 and $9,500) on the Lakers in mid-June.

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An article in the New York Times takes a look at how universities are responding to the expansion of legal sports betting betting.

In Mississippi, university officials sent state gambling regulators names for a “watch list” for big bets. Iowa colleges have simply kept teaching their athletes longstanding, narrowly applied rules on sports wagering. And in Indiana and Pennsylvania, some universities flatly banned students and employees from betting on their school’s athletics events.

The rapid spread of legalized sports betting, made possible by a United States Supreme Court ruling last year, is prompting colleges and universities to grapple quickly with whether they can, or should, control a lawful activity so explicitly linked to the performances of their students.

But as more states have allowed bets and as wagers have soared — there were more than $730 million in sports bets in August, more than double the amount from a year earlier — there is no consensus among universities about how they should respond. And it is unclear whether the initial reactions will stave off any problems that critics fear might come from bets on everything from bowl games to March Madness brackets.

“Because these are fuzzy questions, and they’re new questions, we’re not asserting that we’ve got it tacked down in all particulars,” Mitch Daniels, Purdue’s president, said in an interview as university officials labored this month over the precise wording of their new policy.

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Sports betting has been continuously growing in West Virginia since it was legalized.

Mobile sports betting in West Virginia has hit two milestones, state Lottery Director John Myers said Wednesday: Topping $1 million in revenue for September, and topping $7 million in total wagers for the week of Oct. 13-19.

“It’s been consistent growth as they’ve matured,” he said following Wednesday’s meeting of the Lottery Commission.

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A large number of New Yorkers have been commuting to New Jersey to bet on sports.

Which is why New Yorkers are flooding west. But not too far west—44 percent of all mobile bets in New Jersey are made within two miles of the state border, according to GeoComply, with 80 percent made within ten miles. At a public hearing in May, Fan­Duel’s COO said that as much as 25 percent of its business comes from New Yorkers crossing the border. For those carpetbagging gamblers without a car, Hoboken Terminal—which couldn’t be closer to the state border without falling into the Hudson River—is a mecca.

As it changes them, so they change it: The gamblers step onto the platform and transform it into a literally underground betting parlor. The Borgata it isn’t. But convenience beats out coddling. Here, you won’t find leather seats at ritzy bars, nor giant television screens and waitresses showing too much skin. Here, in this dusky underworld, the house is open all day and all night, and it’s less than twenty minutes from midtown Manhattan. Here, you can get cell service without leaving the turnstile, so the whole trip costs the price of a one-way fare. “I really don’t want to spend more than maybe, like, an hour in New Jersey,” says Harrison, twenty-seven, from Queens, one of the many carpetbagging gamblers I spoke to over the opening weekend of the NFL’s 2019 season.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

The Oregon Lottery launched its sports betting app this week.

The Oregon Lottery was supposed to launch the app in time for football season, but the rollout was delayed. Chinook Winds, a Lincoln City casino, opened a sports betting lounge in late August, beating the Oregon Lottery to the market.

The Oregon Lottery estimated the app would bring in a net profit of $37 million on $1.6 billion in sports betting during the first three years the app is in use.

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The UFC will launch an official real-time data service available to oddsmakers for in-game wagering.

“The UFC Event Centre and its official data feed will be a game changer for how UFC fans engage with our events through sportsbooks and gaming operators,” White said in a statement. “We have the most passionate, die-hard fans of any sport, and they’re going to love the option to place bets live during a fight. Betting operators are also going to love this product because, unlike other sports, UFC has no off season. The action will be non-stop for fans and sportsbook operators.”

It will take official data from UFC, including logos, photos and fighter bios, and will be available to sportsbooks for a licensing fee and a share of gross gaming yield for data access. Specifics on the share and the fee weren’t provided to Bloomberg, which first reported news of the live-betting partnership.

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Six weeks through the NFL season, Russell Wilson became the favorite to win MVP over Patrick Mahomes.

Wilson has thrown for 14 touchdowns without an interception, leading the Seahawks out to a 5-1 start. He passed for 295 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown in the Seahawks’ road win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. He has accounted for 18 touchdowns this season.

Wilson, who has never won MVP and started the season with 20-1 odds to win the award, is now 2-1, just ahead of Mahomes at 5-2 at Caesars Sportsbook.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

A new poll found that 80 percent of Americans now support legalizing sports betting.

In February 2017, results of a Seton Hall Sports Poll revealed that only 46% of Americans believed betting on sports should be legalized. Some 32 months later, the latest version of the poll published Thursday reveals that 80% are in favor of sports betting legalization.

“Public acceptance of legalized betting in sports is moving at a rapid pace, likely tied to court approval,” said Rick Gentile, director of the poll, in a statement.

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The Washington Nationals entered the NLCS as favorites over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Nationals opened as -120 favorites over the Cardinals in the NLCS at Caesars Sportsbook.

Washington was considered a contender entering the season but got off to a disappointing start. The Nationals were 19-31 in late May and were listed as a 70-1 World Series long shot at that point at SugarHouse sportsbooks in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They’re 7-2 now at SugarHouse.

The Nationals winning the World Series would be a boon for some sportsbooks and costly for others. Entering the postseason, only the Tampa Bay Rays had attracted fewer bets to win the World Series at William Hill sportsbooks. There were some big World Series bets on the Nationals, though, including a $15,000 wager last October when Washington opened at 22-1 at William Hill. That ticket would pay a net $330,000.

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Indiana took in more than $34 million in sports betting action during the first month of legal betting in the state.

Mobile sports wagering, which began Oct. 4 in Indiana through two companies — with several more set to come online in coming months — also is likely to pump up Indiana’s handle.

 

Purdue banned students, staff, faculty and contractors from betting on Boilermaker sports.

Trustee Mike Berghoff said campus leaders weren’t comfortable with the idea that the campus community could now legally bet on student-athletes in their classrooms, in their residence halls and in their dining halls.

“We really wanted to get ahead of this,” Berghoff said.

The policy approved Friday morning came with instructions to Purdue legal and compliance staff to hash out the final guidelines, including how the policy would be enforced, the penalties and what it would mean for betting on March Madness pools and other more casual, social settings.

Steve Schultz, Purdue’s legal counsel, said that wouldn’t be ready in time for Saturday’s Homecoming football game against Maryland. But it should be ready, he said, by the football game the following week.

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The Department of Justice accuses that a man attempted to fix college basketball games last year.

Benjamin Bifalco, 25, of Staten Island, New York, is accused of offering members of a college basketball team “thousands of dollars to intentionally lose the game,” according to a news release from the Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The school and players were not identified in the indictment.

Bifalco is charged with attempted sports bribery. Bifalco’s attorney, Vincent Martinelli, declined to comment when reached by ESPN.

Bifalco was caught on a wiretap discussing the scheme with Joseph Amato Jr., one of 20 defendants who were arrested Thursday and charged with crimes in a wide-ranging investigation targeting the Colombo crime family.

On a series of intercepted calls, Bifalco laid out his plans to fix the unidentified game and encouraged Amato Jr. to place thousands of dollars in bets on the game, according to the indictment. Amato sent two texts to defendant Thomas Scorcia before the targeted game: “Ok I wouldn’t trust the game I was telling u about” and “I’m not touching it personally,” the government filing stated.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

The NFL has partnered with a sportsbook.

The league on Thursday announced a multiyear agreement with Tabcorp, a prominent Australian bookmaker (TAB) and media outlet (Sky Channel) that will bring the NFL Network and NFL RedZone to more than 4,400 venues. The partnership makes TAB the exclusive official wagering partner of the NFL in Australia. Such a designation is not yet available to bookmakers in the U.S.

In January, the NFL made Caesars Entertainment its first official casino sponsor. The deal excluded sports betting, however. The league, through its data distributor Sportradar, is selling its data to American and international sportsbooks.

The NFL plans to continue to test international jurisdictions with mature, regulated bookmaking industries while preparing to eventually get more directly involved in the evolving U.S. sports betting landscape.

“Australia was one of the markets we focused on,” NFL executive vice president Chris Halpin told ESPN. “There will be others that we’ll be announcing throughout the season.”

 

The NFL also named DraftKings as its official daily fantasy sports partner.

As part of a multiyear partnership, DraftKings will receive exclusive sponsorship and NFL branding across its fantasy platform. The two entities will collaborate on content for the DraftKings app, including marks, logos, data, NextGen Stats and NFL-produced video clips.

Daily fantasy sports skyrocketed in popularity five years ago, with Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL each partnering with DFS operators. NFL franchises formed commercial partnership with DFS companies, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft each invested in DraftKings.

The NFL, at the league level, however, kept its distance until now.

“This is a defining moment in the daily fantasy sports industry,” Ezra Kucharz, chief business officer at DraftKings, said in a release announcing the partnership.

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A trailer debuted for a sports-betting-focused film starring Adam Sandler called “Uncut Gems.”

Did you know you wanted a movie in which Adam Sandler plays a dirtbag jeweler slinging diamond-encrusted Furbies to Celtics legend Kevin Garnett? No? Well, Uncut Gems is here to change your mind. In the newly released trailer for the upcoming Safdie brothers movie, Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a New York jewelry store owner who gets caught up gambling other peoples’ money. He does all the aforementioned things (dirtbaggery, Furby-slinging) and then some, including getting in a fight with The Weeknd and drawing the ire of everyone in his life, including his partner, played by the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem (Idina Menzel).

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New Jersey has provided the blueprint for making money with legalized sports betting.

Auxier says if anyone is winning on sports betting, it is the state of New Jersey. New Jersey was ready to capitalize on sports betting when it became legal. Infrastructure in the form of casinos in Atlantic City and racetracks in other parts of the state were already in place. Gamblers in New Jersey bet more than $293 million on sporting events in August 2019 alone, allowing Atlantic City’s casinos to rake in 13% more than they did the previous August.

Another win for the Garden State? Allowing online betting and rolling out a welcome mat for companies like FanDuel and DraftKings. Online gambling now accounts for about 80% of all legal sports bets in New Jersey. According to the New York Times, New Jersey passed Nevada as the sports betting capital of the U.S.

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Indiana will have mobile sports betting starting on Oct. 3.

The Indiana Gaming Commission authorized a Chicago-based gaming company that has partnered with French Lick Casino to conduct mobile sports betting beginning Oct. 3. Rush Street Gaming has “substantially demonstrated” that its mobile sports wagering operation meets Indiana’s requirements, gaming officials said Wednesday.

French Lick Casino said in August that all types of sports betting available at its retail sportsbook will be available on its online sportsbook. French Lick Casino was authorized Sept. 6 to take bets at its in-person sportsbook.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

The lopsided results against the Miami Dolphins are creating a challenge for sportsbook operators.

“The spreads are obnoxious,” Ed Salmons, a 30-year oddsmaker and vice president of risk for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, told ESPN. “It’s like I’m looking at college [football].”

Added CG Technology sportsbook director Tony DiTommaso: “My brother from New Jersey bet against them in Week 1 and doubled up against them in Week 2. And he called me and said, ‘It’s that easy. I can’t believe you get paid to do this and you couldn’t figure that out.’ And I just started laughing.”

Oddsmakers are now fully aware. Miami has been outscored 102-10 through two games, failing to cover the point spread by a combined 67 points.

“This is unprecedented. Teams have been bad before, but this is different. They’re bad and not caring. Everyone wants out. It’s kind of crazy,” Caesars Sportsbook director of trading Jeff Davis told ESPN.

 

This week of NFL action features two underdogs of at least 21 points.

The New England Patriots are 22.5-point favorites over the New York Jets, and the Dallas Cowboys are 21.5-point favorites over the Miami Dolphins at the majority of sportsbooks.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the first time there has been a week with multiple 20-point spreads in 32 years. In Week 5 of the 1987 season, the Dallas Cowboys were favored by 21 over the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers were 23-point favorites at the Atlanta Falcons.

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The body of “5Dimes Tony” was found in Costa Rica nearly a year after he went missing.

The body of William Sean Creighton, 43, based in Costa Rica and originally from West Virginia, was found last week in a cemetery in the small fishing town of Quepos, according to a statement from the nation’s judicial investigation department (OIJ). A cause of death could not be confirmed because “it isn’t clear yet,” according to the statement.

“We can confirm Costa Rican authorities identified the remains of a U.S. citizen in Costa Rica,” a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in a statement Monday afternoon in response to ESPN’s request for comment about Creighton’s death. “We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of death. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment.”

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Legalizing online sports betting in New York may have to wait until at least next year.

Reports out of New York are indicating that the upcoming legislative session is going to be cut short, which is bad news for people hoping to bet on sports online in the state.

Representatives of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, also a Democrat told the Wall Street Journal, the schedule was still being worked out and no decision has been made.

Mobile sports betting hasn’t necessarily been the hot topic floating around Albany with lawmakers choosing to prioritize other issues such as social services, wage increases, and veterans affairs.

On top of a potentially shortened legislative session, the state gaming commission failed to meet an Aug. 12 deadline to select a company to conduct a sports betting study.

The study, which will analyze the economic benefits of mobile/online sports betting, was set to being September 1 with a final report expected December 31. It’s safe to assume neither deadline will be met.

 

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

The NCAA is pushing for federal regulation for sports betting.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) are in the early stages of collaborating on federal sports betting legislation, sources told ESPN. The legislation is expected to be similar to the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act that was introduced in December by Schumer and since-retired senator Orrin Hatch, but never gained momentum. There is no timeline for the introduction for Schumer and Romney’s bill.

The NCAA would prefer that a prohibition on betting on collegiate sports be included in federal legislation, but there are legal questions about any such carve-out.

“We are absolutely supportive of federal regulation,” NCAA vice president of hearing operations Naima Stevenson Starks, a point person on sports betting, told ESPN. “It’s fairly daunting to think that every state would have a different set of regulations. Having some minimum standards, we are very supportive of and have been an active proponent of.”

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A bill to legalize sports betting has been resurrected in Michigan.

State Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Kalamazoo, told the House Regulatory Reform Committee Tuesday that he traveled to a casino 1 mile over the Michigan border into Indiana on Saturday with his weekend fun money. He was able to place sports bets on the U-M versus Army football game (he lost $50) and another against the Lions in their NFL match against the Arizona Cardinals (he won $100).

“Always betting against the Lions, that’s a sure bet,” he said.

Iden has been the driving force behind expanding legalized gambling in Michigan. He ushered through bills last session that would legalize betting on fantasy sports and online gambling through the state’s 23 tribal and three Detroit casinos.

Even though the bills had widespread support in the Legislature, they were vetoed by former Gov. Rick Snyder, who opposed expansion of gambling in the state and feared a loss of revenue for the state lottery, from which revenues are funneled to schools.

Iden is hoping for a different outcome with a new governor in office.

“My goal is to have this up and running by the Super Bowl. Casinos are moving forward because they know it’s going to come to fruition at some point,” he said. “If we don’t do this, we will continue to lose consumers to other states, just like you lost me to Indiana last weekend.”

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A new report reveals that Justify failed a drug test before winning the 2018 Triple Crown.

“In a market like MVP that doesn’t handle nearly as much money as the Super Bowl does, we have to be more aggressive with moves when we see something dramatic. While last week was likely an anomaly to some extent, the small flood of public money really adds up here. If we are too slow to react, we will end up with too much liability very quickly,” Caesars director of trading Jeff Davis told ESPN.

Could recent history repeat itself? Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 2016 after opening as a 100-1 long shot. Additionally, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes opened with 100-1 odds last year before winning the MVP in his second season.

Asked about the MVP buzz, Jackson said, “I don’t really listen to stuff like that. Just a week prior to that, they were just saying ‘running back.’ I’m just going to play ball and come out with victories.”

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].

Indiana will welcome legalized sports betting on Sunday.

At least three casinos — ones near Indianapolis, Chicago and Cincinnati — plan to open on-site sports wagering areas that day. Some others plan similar openings before the NFL season kicks off on Sept. 5.

The Indiana Gaming Commission voted Wednesday to approve sports wagering regulations. Eleven of the 13 state-regulated casinos and all three of its off-track betting parlors have received temporary sports betting licenses. The casinos are still working to launch mobile betting apps in the state.

 

Mobile betting could be coming soon, too.

“A lot of jurisdictions have told us as regulators that retail is easier to launch because it folds into existing casino operations,” Tait said. “Wisely, I think casino operators have chosen to do this two-tier approach. Right now, efforts are all on the retail side, but we’re still preparing to receive mobile requirements.”

Without a proposed start date, Tait can’t say when the first operator will take mobile bets in Indiana. However, the process that has begun seems to indicate that at least some casinos should have Indiana sports betting online by October.

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Indiana Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement last weekend and sportsbooks have reacted.

The Colts went from second-tier Super Bowl contenders, with odds in the 15-1 range, to 60-1 long shots, along with the New York Jets. The Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Colts’ three AFC South divisional opponents — the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans — each saw their Super Bowl odds improve.

Indianapolis had been the odds-on favorite to win the AFC South, but without Luck it became an underdog in the up-for-grabs division. The Texans are now the favorites in the division at most sportsbooks.

“Just basically everything we have involving the NFL, we changed,” Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, said Sunday morning. “From the Week 1 number to the Games of the Year, to the season wins, odds to make the playoffs, division, conference, Super Bowl … yeah, it affected everything.”

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Nebraska has attracted hundreds of futures bets at an Iowa sportsbook.

A week later, nearly 60 percent of the money that has been bet on Ameristar’s odds to win the national title is on the Cornhuskers. Out of the first 260 title bets placed, more than half (132) were on Nebraska.

In comparison, as of Tuesday, there had been 16 bets combined on favorites Alabama and Clemson.

“The liability on Nebraska is approaching $250,000,” Erich Zimny, head of retail sportsbook operations for Penn National Gaming, which runs Ameristar, told ESPN. “We’d anticipate more plays coming in over the next couple weeks.”

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Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email [email protected].