This Week in Gambling

A historic NBA sports betting deal with MGM Resorts is a significant turnabout. Finding common ground between the major sports leagues and the sports betting world has been a little like looking for hens’ teeth. Since PASPA was ‘ceremoniously’ dismantled back in May, the leagues have searched long and hard for a willingness on the part of the industry and state law makers to agree to a one per cent integrity fee. Those calls have hitherto been met with a fractious blend of derision and outright cynicism. Only New York conceded to such an arrangement, but missed its legislative deadline…

Mississippi sports betting will come on August 1st, which is 26 years to the day after the first casino in the state opened in Biloxi in 1992. The initial wagers are expected to be placed simultaneously at about noon at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and at Gold Strike Casino in Tunica. Sports books at the two MGM Resorts International casinos will then open to the public. So for the first weekend or two of the NFL pre-season games, the state could have four casinos taking wagers. The launch of sports betting comes 10 days after Mississippi’s…

How will the legalization of sports betting affect on Tribal Gaming? Much of the American Indian casino industry is at least temporarily opting out of sports betting, discouraged at the anticipated low profit margins and rebuffed by federal and state regulatory and legislative hurdles required to take wagers on college and professional sports. But the debate surrounding sports betting is accelerating efforts to advance tribal government casinos from traditional gambling to internet and mobile technology, a transition believed necessary to generate interest from a younger generation of customers. “This certainly ramps up the conversation of what comes next in the…

Lottery officials have assured state residents that West Virginia sports betting is still on track for a September rollout despite delays in the approval of its rules. State casinos and racetracks are reviewing the sports betting rules before the state launches betting in September. According to state lottery attorney Danielle Boyd, the West Virginia Lottery Commission issued the so-called internal control documents for sports betting on June 21. However, Boyd said it was only last week that the gambling operators were able to get a copy of the draft regulations. Boyd attributed the distribution delays to the review that State…

Pennsylvania sports betting may not meet with the same success as Nevada or New Jersey. Joe Asher, CEO of bookmaker William Hill US, isn’t betting it over the short-term. William Hill operates the sports books at Monmouth Park and Ocean Resort Casino as well as over 100 sports books in Nevada. Pennsylvania casinos must first pay a whopping $10 million licensing fee. They’ll also have to pay a 36 percent tax on gross betting revenue — or the amount left after winners are paid. Asher believes that tax structure is a real challenge for the regulated Pennsylvania sports betting. In…

At the heart of the financial tug of war begun between college athletics and the gaming industry is a disagreement: Administrators say betting on college sports will increase the likelihood of scandals on campus. Gaming entities, armed with watchdogs, believe the opposite is true. What happened to Mike Hamrick in Las Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas. It stayed with him. One particular memory from his six years as UNLV’s athletic director — at the nexus of sports and gambling in the United States, with a sportsbook across the street from the football team’s practice facility — resurfaced recently. It was…