This Week in Gambling

The long wait for Pennsylvania Internet Gambling is almost over. But could the industry be doomed before it ever launches? When Pennsylvania passed its gambling expansion bill in 2017, the sky was the limit to its potential. As one of the most populous states in America, Pennsylvania was suddenly the largest state with legalized sports betting as well as online casinos and poker. With such hype, however, comes ample responsibility. Responsibility not to embrace the industry, not to succeed, but simply to get it right. The state  has faced a steep hill to climb. Lawmakers instituted outrageous tax rates and…

A bill to regulate New Hampshire sports betting is headed to the desk of Governor Chris Sununu following the state House of Representatives and Senate agreed on House Bill 480. The bill also establishes the Division of Sports Wagering, a unit within the state Lottery Commission which will be handed oversight of the sector, including selecting the state’s sports betting vendors. Hopefully, the bill will be signed into law by the Governor. It estimates that partners could be selected by January 1, 2020, with a view to launching the market by July 1. You can read more about the New…

Poker professional and player favorite Eli Elezra held off nearly 300 opponents to win another WSOP Bracelet. It was the 4th of his career, and it came in the 2019 World Series of Poker $1,500 seven-card stud event. Three of Elezra’s four WSOP titles have come in stud poker tournaments. His most recent win at the series saw him take down this same event, the $1,500 buy-in seven-card stud, back in 2015. His lone non-stud WSOP win came in the 2013 $2,500 triple draw deuce-to-seven lowball event. He now has more than $2 million in WSOP earnings, with 64 career…

With mobile gambling apps increasing in popularity, gamblers spend much more time playing online casino games on their devices. Now, there has been a call in the gaming community for software developers to offer ways for gamblers to interact socially while playing games. Several years ago players were given the opportunity to communicate with one another while sitting in bingo lounges. This kind of technology was not immediately made available for online casino games because no one had yet envisioned that players would want to interact among themselves. That changed several years back when software developers like Evolution Gaming began…

Speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress in New Jersey, a panel of gambling and tech executives recently theorized that 90% of US sports betting will be done over mobile phones and the internet somewhere between the next five to 10 years. Since winning a U.S. Supreme Court case last year, New Jersey has taken in nearly $3 billion in sports bets with about 80% of those placed online. That is only expected to rise over the next decade. Moti Malul, CEO of NeoGames, a global provider of internet lottery and gambling technology, predicted “90-plus percent” of all U.S. sports…

With the recent ruling in New Hampshire against the Department of Justice, online poker shared liquidity could create a monster. During its latest trading update, 888 Holdings boasted that it had already moved into the lead among US online poker sites. 888 only serves three states, but the claim of being the market leader includes the combined network of 888 and its US partner, WSOP. Things may not be good with the rest of the 888 Poker operations around the world, though. Global online poker revenue fell disastrously during 2018, with year-over-year numbers down 28%. The good news from the US, however,…