State of the Union: Olympics betting, Texas legalisation talk, Ontario’s latest idea

Welcome to iGB’s State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we’ve covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Here’s where Olympic betting is highest in US
According to a Forbes report, bettors in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania have a high interest in betting on the Olympics. Why? Per the story, a heavy interest in basketball – particularly the Celtics in Maine and Massachusetts and college basketball in North Carolina – is one driver.

Another is the number of athletes representing a state in Paris. Of the 592 athletes representing the US at the Olympics, which runs through 11 August, 143 are from California. The state with the next highest is Florida with 50, followed by Texas with 43. Of the three states, only Florida has legal sports betting. There are 31 athletes from New York competing and 20 from Pennsylvania.

Bettors in Massachusetts can bet on the Olympics, but not on judged sports. That means Bay Staters could not bet on gymnastics, equestrian, diving and myriad other sports. Massachusetts and Louisiana prohibit wagering on judged sports.

Things heating up in Texas?
Last week, the North Texas Commission, a group of business and community leaders interested in gambling, formed a gambling exploratory council. This week, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) lobbyist Andy Abboud was in front of the group making a pitch. According to the Dallas Morning News, mayors from Arlington and Irving were in attendance, as well as a Dallas city council member. The MLB Texas Rangers and NFL Dallas Cowboys play in Arlington.

Texas lawmakers are expected to consider legal gambling, particularly the creation of casino resorts, during the 2025 session. LVS, which is now the majority owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, is already preparing for the eventuality. The goal, should gambling be legalised, would be to build out a casino resort and new arena for the Mavericks in Dallas. In Irving, where the former Cowboys stadium was, LVS bought 108 acres.

Bally’s live in Maryland
On Monday (28 July) the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission (MLGC) announced that Bally Bet went live in the state. Bally’s went through a controlled demonstration on 25 July. During that time, customers were able to use the site with MLGC oversight.

Bally’s is the 10th digital sports betting platform to launch in Maryland and the first since Fanatics Sportsbook launched last November. The launch was the second for Bally Bet in July. The platform went live in Massachusetts on 2 July. Maryland is the ninth market in which Bally Bet is available.

Belichick will get his say via Underdog
Underdog Sports announced on Thursday that is has partnered with storied former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick:

Tune in every week during the season for team-by-team and game-by-game breakdowns by Coach Bill Belichick.

📷: https://t.co/DCpHO3AWG5

— Underdog Fantasy (@UnderdogFantasy) July 31, 2024

Prophet trying again, this time with a sweeps model
Shuttered sports betting exchange Prophet announced on Monday (29 July) that it is back with a sweepstakes model and plans to launch next month. According to Covers, the company will go live in 40 states, pending regulatory approval.

Prophet Exchange started as a peer-to-peer wagering site, but many states weren’t open to licensing them or competitor Sporttrade. Prophet opted to step back and reset while Sporttrade has gone live in some states with traditional sports betting as it waits for other states to develop regulations around peer-to-peer wagering.

ProphetX will offer a free-to-play sweepstakes game. The goal is to “attract all kinds of users” the company COO said.

On Thursday (1 August) iGaming Ontario announced that it is creating a centralised self-exclusion list. Bettors in Ontario will be able to self exclude once and the list will then be available to all operators. iGaming Ontario is outsourcing the list to IC360 and IXUP.

According to a press release, the companies will begin work on the new system “immediately”. iGaming Ontario did not share when it would be available for use.

A look at Massachusetts’ first year of legal wagering
A report provided to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission showed $594.9m in gross gaming revenue and $118.5m in tax revenue during the first full year of live sports betting. According to the report, three million bets were placed from 1.6 million accounts in the first year and Super Bowl betting accounted for $9m in GGR. Digital wagering launched 10 March 2023.

For comparison, in Arizona, which has a population of 7.4 million people versus Massachusetts’ 7 million, operators took in about $465.3m in GGR in its first full year of legal wagering.

The Massachusetts report covers about 13 months, from when retail betting went live on 31 January 2023 through 10 March 2024. Eight operators were live for most of the reporting period, but Betr and WynnBet have since exited the state. Bally Bet launched in early July.

Vermont gets $3.5m in tax revenue in six months
Through the first six months of legal betting in Vermont, the state took in about $3.5m in tax dollars on $100m wagered. According to Vermont Public, 4 million bets were placed and the average amount of a bet was $20. Basketball led all sports in terms of wagering handle.

In other news…
WynnBet officially shuttered its New York sports betting platform on Monday (29 July). The company previously announced it would exit the state. Consumers will have until 29 August to withdraw funds. ESPN Bet will take over the licence and has plans to launch in the fall.

The Sports Betting Exchange has gained market access in Colorado, Sports Handle reported this week. The company is partnered with the Gilpin Casino and won’t launch until it gets “regulatory approval (for) the peer-to-peer exchange, a stock market-like platform where bettors set their own limit orders and match one another.”

The newly formed Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation on Tuesday announced that Susan Spreckert will be the COO. Spreckert was formerly a commissioner of law for the Lexington-Fayetteville county government and general counsel for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The agency is now seeking a CFO and chief legal officer.

Massachusetts governor, Maura Healy, approved online lottery as part of the state budget on 30 July. The state lottery projects it will be 16 months before it can launch.

ICYMI on iGB
Meruelo’s $1bn casino project would be biggest in Reno history

Bill to repeal US wagering excise tax filed in Congress

Under this deal, one company would own 10 of 20 Louisiana casinos

Nebraska lawmakers seem unprepared to legalise digital wagering

Pennsylvania casinos sue state hoping to force skill-games tax