Sports Books Explosion Continues in New Jersey
FanDuel, William Hill and Caesars Entertainment have launched online sports books in New Jersey brining the state’s total to six. The new online sports books are associated with Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands racetracks and all Caesars properties. Also, two Atlantic City casinos—Golden Nugget and Ocean Resort (l.)—opened their permanent sports book facilities. All of the six sports books in the city initially opened in temporary spaces.
DraftKings Suffers DOS Attack
Fantasy sports site DraftKings said it suffered a denial of service attack in August and is attempting to sue the perpetrators. A federal judge in Massachusetts issued an order allowing DraftKings to seek the identities of those who launched the attack. The company says the attack overwhelmed its site for more than 20 minutes with three times the number of requests for information it normally receives.
Why CBS Won’t Mention NFL Point Spreads During Games
CBS President Sean McManus (l.) says CBS is not ready to begin discussing sports betting issues during NFL telecasts despite sports betting now being legal in several U.S. states. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, McManus said that the number of states with sports betting is still too small to change the network’s policy of not mentioning point spreads.
Belarus Legalizes Online Gambling
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (l.) has signed a decree legalizing online casinos in the country. Online gaming sites, however, cannot launch until April 2019. Online bingo, slots and card games are permitted under the decree. Live dealer casino games are also allowed.
Jack For Sale?
Dan Gilbert (l.), the founder of Quicken Loans and the owner of Jack Entertainment, is putting his casinos up for sale, according to Bloomberg. Gilbert, who also owns the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, is reportedly interested in buying a major league baseball team, which bans ownership by gaming interests.
Massachusetts Tribe Rejected by BIA
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose ancestors met the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth, received a letter from the Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney (l.) saying the BIA could not find justification for putting their land in Taunton into trust. While there is still some legislation being proposed, the decision will negatively impact the tribe’s ability to build its First Light casino.
Parx Casino Applies for Pennsylvania Sports Book
Parx Casino has applied for a sports betting license in Pennsylvania, making it the second casino company to apply in the state. Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, owner of the casino, also applied to regulators for sports betting at the South Philadelphia Turf Club, an off-track betting facility. Penn National was the first casino company to apply for a sports betting license.
MGM Springfield Opening Exceeds Expectations
The much-awaited MGM Springfield opened over the Labor Day weekend, drawing more than 150,000 people during the three days. This greatly exceeded expectations, said the casino’s president, Michael Mathis (l.).
Mississippi Choctaws Open First Tribal Sports Book
On August 29, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians became the first tribe outside Nevada to offer sports betting, at its Golden Moon Hotel and Casino at the Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi (ribbon cutting at left). In-person betting will be offered at first, with kiosks and on-premise mobile wagering following within a few weeks.
R.I.’s Tiverton Casino Hotel Cuts Ribbon
Twin River Management Group over the weekend celebrated the grand opening of the new Tiverton Casino Hotel (l.). The opening coincided with the closing of the old Newport Grand, whose license was transferred.
West Virginia Sports Betting Starts Early
On Thursday, August 30, two days ahead of schedule, West Virginia became the fifth state offering legalized sports betting, as Hollywood Casino took its first sports wager—that West Virginia University football (l.) would win the National Championship. Sports bettors wagered $340,000 over the first full weekend of legalized sports betting, according to the state lottery
Arizona Attorney Says Sports Betting Would Require Compact Change
The existing Arizona tribal state gaming compacts create an almost insurmountable barrier to the state legislature creating a framework for legalizing sports betting says attorney Steve Hart (l.). Any such framework would violate the compacts and rob the state of much of the gaming revenue they pay, say experts in gaming and Indian law.
