Category Archives: Sports Betting

Betway offers the very best in online sports betting. There is nothing that quite matches the excitement of watching your favorite teams go head-to-head with their biggest rivals in the most popular global sport of them all, football. The only thing that could make this experience any better would be by raising the stakes and backing your teams with a bet aimed at upping the intensity. Place a bet and start backing your team!

From football to tennis, rugby to cricket, there is nothing that can match the intensity and excitement that comes from watching your favorite team or player as they take on their biggest rivals in a battle to determine bragging rights for weeks to come. The only thing that could possibly make it any better would be by raising the stakes, backing the team or player with a well-placed bet aimed at adding even more thrill to the event. Well now its your turn. Place a bet with Betway and feel the energy that can only be experienced through the world of sports betting.

At Betway, our sole aim is to make the excitement that comes from sports betting as simple and accessible as possible for all our customers. By offering a range of sports, and including games from every major league and tournament across the world, we are committed to providing thousands of different choices for you to channel your sporting passion.

With Betway, customers are given the freedom to bet quickly and easily with whatever method is most comfortable to them. Whether its through the easy-to-navigate website or through their phones, the Betway online and mobile platform is designed to make sports betting as simple as possible. Eager sports fans can deposit and get their bets in anywhere, at any time, keeping them closer to the action than ever before.

Whether our customers are fans of betting the traditional way with Single or Multi Bets, or are interested in adding a little variety to their betting with Correct Score, Double Chance or First Team to Score, Betway has all the markets, with all the best odds any sport fan could dream of.

If you are looking for something even more exciting, Betway offers live betting through Live In-Play , letting you bet as the action unfolds in real time.

Get in on the action with soccer betting, rugby betting or one of the many other options available.

Betting on your favourite sport can be overwhelming at times. We've answered some frequently asked questions to help you out. You can also head over to the Betway FAQ's page if you have any questions about the online sports betting process and games here at Betway.

Betway offers markets on all of your favourite teams, players, and leagues. From soccer to snooker, you can bet on it all from the Sport page. Download the Betway App to bet on all your favourite sports from the plam of your hand.

Placing your first bet on your favourite sport is easy. Visit the How to Bet page for a step-by-step guide to betting on the action.

Betway is licensed and regulated through the Western Cape Gambling Board (Bookmaker license number: 10181496-005) supports responsible gambling. All transactions online with Betway are protected using impenetrable digital encryption technology, creating a safe and regulated arena in which to comfortably bet.

We offer tailored and in-depth customer service for our customers 24/7 365 days a year. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

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Louisiana Sports Betting Legal Update September 2021

Legal sports betting has passed in the State Congress. Now it is time for sportsbooks to apply for licenses through the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. There is a possible 41 online sportsbooks and 20 retail sportsbooks coming to the State of Louisiana. Each one of the 55 parishes with legal sports betting will have the chance to bet online with the regulated and licensed online sportsbooks in Louisiana once the betting launches. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board approved emergency rules for sports betting on August 19 and the rules went into effect on August 23. With that update, sportsbooks are hopeful for a launch at some point during the 2021 NFL season.

After a very long and hard-fought battle in the State House and State Senate of Louisiana, voters in the 2020 election were given the opportunity to vote on legalizing sports betting in their district, or as Louisiana calls them, parish. The ballot did not mention any exclusion or inclusion of online sports gambling, and instead, that decision was left open for regulatory bodies in 2021.

Louisiana became next in a long line of states in the Union to legalize sports wagering following the Supreme Court Decision that deemed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 unconstitutional. This was the bill stopping states from legalizing sports gambling, and now, the states basically have full control.

The November 2020 ballot had a simple question for each and every voter on whether they would like to legalize sports gambling within their parish. 55 out of the 64 parishes voted yes, making sports gambling possible in those locations.

The bill that this vote was attached to gave the regulation power to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. They now hold all the cards for the future of sports betting in these parishes that have chosen to legalize sports wagering.

The election did not mean instant sports betting availability; the gaming commission, alongside lawmakers, had to create the regulations and tax laws revolving around sports betting. That has now been completed.

Many experts and some congressmen and women are hopeful for a late 2021 launch date for sports betting, possibly as soon as October. Now that legislation has been complete, it is all up to the gaming control board to finalize the licenses and get sports betting launched. This process was accelerated by the approval of emergency rules by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, and permanent rules should be finished in the coming months.

2018 SCOTUS overturns a law that bans sports betting throughout the United States. This sets the stage for each and every state to make their own decision on sports betting.

March 2019: Daily Fantasy Sports is offered up in a bill proposed by the House; this was to set the groundwork for sports betting.

June 2019: The first attempt at a gambling law, including sports betting and daily fantasy, falls short. After putting together a bill for DFS, there was an attempt to sneak sports betting onto the bill, which made it fail in the state legislature.

March 2020: New sports betting bill is introduced to the House with much more promise due to the new faces in the state legislature.

May 2020: The House voted in favor of the sports betting bill, and then the Senate passed it two weeks later. This allowed for there to be a ballot measure asking each and every parish if they would like to authorize sports betting.

November 2020: 55 out of 64 parishes vote yes to sports betting, allowing it to launch in those locations. This vote also gave the Louisiana Gaming Control Board power to regulate sports gambling.

June 2021: The legislation to regulate and tax legal sports betting passed. This legislation lets up to 41 online sportsbooks to launch in the state. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board has the power to regulate and hand out licenses.

August 2021: The Lousiana Gaming Control Board approved emergency rules which went into effect on August 23. These emergency rules start the licensing process and allow for permanent rules to be established in the near future.

September 2021: Sports betting is likely to launch in October after Hurricane Ida forced a postponement of its legalization.

With the legalization of sports betting, residents of Louisiana are probably looking for where they can bet. While betting is legalized, there are no currently licensed locations or online sportsbooks in the state. Louisiana bettors will likely have many options once sports betting launches.

Online sports betting is the gold standard of sports betting. Tennessee is a great example of a state who actually went online-only and is pulling in millions in tax revenue in just its first month of sports gambling.

Online sports betting will be coming, and there will be a potential of 41 online sportsbooks. Each one of the 20 retail casinos will be able to apply for two online sports betting skins, and the Louisiana State Lottery will be granted one. However, online sports betting on laptops and smartphones will not be immediately available upon launch; that is likely to take a few additional months.

There are currently 20 normal casinos/race track casinos that are regulated by the state, as well as three tribal casinos in Louisiana. These are the places that will be given the opportunity to receive licenses one way or another over the course of the next year plus. You will be able to visit these casinos and place wagers on sports in accordance with the regulations provided by the state.

Offshore sportsbooks are a weird legal grey area. Nothing in Federal Law explicitly prohibits it. However, Louisiana is one of the few states that does seem to have room to argue that offshore sportsbooks are illegal in the state.

This was one of the big reasons to push for legalized gambling through the in-state casinos and, hopefully, online American sportsbooks; Louisiana wanted to give residents a legal alternative for sports betting.

Using an offshore sportsbook means that you are using an unregulated, uninsured, and unlicensed sportsbook to bet with. It is dangerous and not explicitly legal in Louisiana.

With Louisiana offering a possible 41 online sportsbooks in the state, there are some major players who will be racing to get into the Bayou State. These sportsbooks will also be vying for that coveted number one spot in the market in a very passionate sporting state like Louisiana.

DraftKings originated as a daily fantasy company but has made the move to offer sports betting. DraftKings Sportsbook is our top-rated sportsbook, and for good reason. DraftKings offers its users one of the friendliest new-user bonuses of a $1,000 deposit match bonus to make sure that you join the sportsbook on a good note.

Following joining, you quickly notice how many sports and different kinds of wagers DraftKings offers, including a full slate of prop-bets, future bets, live-game bets, parlays, and teasers. On top of this, DraftKings odds pricing is some of the best on these wagers.

DraftKings specializes in mobile sports betting. The user interface is fantastic and is extremely clean while being well organized. It will remind users a lot of the daily fantasy app that is also praised for these positives.

DraftKings has tons of promotions and daily odds boosts for existing users. This means that you can consistently get good value for money simply by choosing DraftKings as your sportsbook. However, the perks do not stop there as DraftKings also offers a wonderful rewards program that few other bookmakers can compete with.

Support is a little lacking on DraftKings as it has no instant live-chat or phone line to address problems immediately. It does have a FAQ page and a place to submit tickets, however.

FanDuel Sportsbook, which was recently acquired by Flutter Company, a gambling investment business, is our next top-rated sportsbook. FanDuel also started out as a daily fantasy website; however, it has moved into the online sportsbook game as soon as it was apparent that PASPA was going to be overturned.

FanDuel is one of the best-designed applications on this list, and its app, both mobile and browser site, is fantastic. It is very clean, organized, bright, and a joy to use. Everything from creating your bet slip to account management and deposits is straightforward with no technical issues.FanDuel has loads of sports and an incredible amount of wagers, including single-game parlays, which is a feature it is pushing very hard. Being able to place a parlay on a single game with spreads, prop bets, and more is a huge plus and a major bonus to using FanDuel.

The existing-user bonuses for FanDuel are plentiful, and all can be found in the promotions tab. However, FanDuel does not have a true rewards program, and you mainly have your choice of several great promotions each and every week to choose from to get value.

When it comes to the new-user bonus, FanDuel will most likely offer its $1,000 risk-free bet that you can use on your first bet slip. Having this much money on a wager completely covered by the risk-free guarantee is massive and gives a chance for first-time users to make loads of cash.

FanDuel lacks live agent support from live chat or phone line but has one of the most in-depth FAQs out there.

The online sportsbook provided by MGM International and GVC Holdings comes in at number three. BetMGM has been one of the biggest and most aggressive sportsbooks in the nation so far. It continues to make strides with professional partnerships and offers exclusive deals to its users due to these partnerships with teams from the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and more.

BetMGMs sportsbook is great as a sportsbook. That means it has tons of sports, great odds pricing, good values on promotions, and has you covered when it comes to the betting aspect of things. It even has one-game parlays and an extensive pre-made parlay page to choose some great bets on.However, BetMGMs user interface could use some work. The app is organized and is by no means unusable. However, there is a lot of clutter, and you can experience slowdowns when searching for that perfect bet. Oftentimes, BetMGM pushes its value bets or promotions but does so in an intrusive way.

BetMGM support is one of the best out of any sportsbook. It offers live chats 24/7 to answer any question you need. It even has a place to upload documents to make the chat experience even faster and easier. It also has an FAQ and Email option.

The expected new-user bonus is a $1,000 risk-free bet

Caesars is NOT an offshore sportsbook as it operates in the United States and gets licensed in any state in which it offers its services.

Caesars may have too basic of an interface as it can be seen as a little old-school. However, the app and site are so easy to use, it makes for a great option for new bettors.

Caesars has, maybe, the widest selection of sports to choose from and a ton of bets in international sports due to its experience in those areas. This means that if you are looking into soccer bets or maybe international golf, then Caesar might be the best option.In terms of promotions, there is not a lot on Caesars nor is there a real amazing rewards program. However, the value on the normal odds is always pretty good. You can also get great valued parlays and teasers on Caesars.

The support is where Caesars shines, offering the trifecta of Email, live chat, and phone line. This means that Caesars has tons of ways to get in contact with support and help with your issues.

The new-user bonus on Caesars projects to be a $5,000 risk-free bet. However, Caesars is one of the sportsbooks that often changes up its new-user bonus based on the state.

PointsBet is an Australian-based sportsbook that is innovating the bookmaking game. PointsBet offers its PointsBetting, a system of placing wagers in which your stake can be multiplied in or out of the money based on how the bet goes.

PointsBet also offers a full slate of normal fixed-odds or traditional odds like spreads, Moneylines, prop-bets, and more. In-play betting is possible on the sportsbook, and it has one of the best bet slips for parlays and teasers.

The app, both on your phone or computer, is built fantastically. It is so clean, and the dark theme makes it very easy on the eyes when navigating the sportsbook for the perfect bet.PointsBet has a basic rewards program in most states that sees you earn free bet money by placing more bets. It also offers loads of odds boosts daily, as well as promotions.

PointsBet offers a live chat feature that is quick and can answer any one of your many questions about the sportsbook. It also has a help page with an FAQ.

The expected new-user bonus comes in at $1,500 in risk-free bets. This breaks down into $1,000 for PointsBetting wagers and $500 in fixed-odds wagers.

Fox Bet is the final sportsbook on our list and is one of the newest faces to the bookmaking game in America.

Fox Bet offers a classic sportsbook with nothing too special on it. It has loads of wagers at reasonable prices with all your favorite sports on it. However, it does lack a little bit in the design aspect here as it can be hard to find the wager you are looking for.

You can place parlays on the sportsbook, but it is very restrictive when it comes to single-game parlays. It would be nice to see this expanded. Live-game betting is available, and Fox Bet does a great job of having this part of its app running smoothly to place bets in a timely manner.Fox Bet has decent promotions but no fantastic rewards program. It does offer quite a few options for support, though getting into contact with a live agent requires submitting a ticket first. The FAQ page does have lots of answers.

The new-user bonus that is commonly offered is $500 in free bets, which is a nice bonus to start your sports betting career with.

Casinos will be the one avenue that should definitely be offering sports betting in the near future in Louisiana. Here are some of the top destinations in Louisiana that may be offering a sportsbook come the end of 2021 or the start of 2022.

Harrahs Casino is one of the largest casinos in the New Orleans area. Harrahs is a staple in the gaming and hospitality world and offers Louisiana a wonderful location for betting. Harrahs is owned by Caesars, which has a lot of experience offering sports betting in its other locations. This should be one of the best and one of the first places to offer sports wagering, giving New Orleans residents a place to bet.

LAuberge has multiple locations in the state, but its Baton Rouge location will give Louisianas capital city a fantastic location for sports betting. LAuberge has one of the biggest casino floors, and the casino should expand to add a sportsbook when it can offer one. This casino and hotel has just about everything you could want for a get-away, but most importantly will hopefully have sports wagering in the coming future.

Louisiana has arguably three major sports teams, with two of those being professional and one being collegiate.

The Saints are Louisianas team and a massive presence in New Orleans. I expect that when the sports betting finally goes live, sportsbooks will be taking tons of cash on these Saints. NFL bets are one of the most popular forms of bets, and the Saints are a huge organization with a great history in the NFC South.

The LSU Tigers, specifically in football, are a massive entity in the sporting world. As recently as 2019, LSU won a National Title on the backs of Joe Burrows insane performance. Hopefully, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board will allow for collegiate betting that allows for in-state college betting so that residents can put money down on LSU.

Sometimes forgotten, the New Orleans Pelicans have a major star in Zion Williams. The NBA franchise is working its way to becoming one of the better teams in basketball. NBA bets are huge, and wagering on the Pelicans will be a big part of Louisiana sports betting.

Daily Fantasy Sports was supposed to come to Louisiana in early 2020. However, there have been setbacks, and the release date continues to be pushed back. Hopefully, daily fantasy will be made available soon since the legal process was already accomplished to allow DFS to begin.

DraftKings is one of the originals in DFS and offers one of, if not the best, daily fantasy sports platforms. The amount of contests and sports you can play on DraftKings is remarkable, and it has a bunch of promotions for its users.

FanDuel has a very aesthetically pleasing daily fantasy platform. There are tons of contests for both sports and entertainment. If you want a daily fantasy platform that runs smoothly and offers you a bunch of choices, then FanDuel is a great option.

Monkey Knife Fight offers something slightly different from daily fantasy. Monkey Knife Fight offers primarily prop-bet games where you predict prop-bets and try to win cash in competitions. This is a bit of a hybrid when it comes to sports betting and daily fantasy. It is sports betting props with a daily fantasy contest and wagering process.

Yahoo Daily Fantasy has quickly climbed the ranks and become one of the best spots to bet. While it lacks the number of contests and sports as some of its competitors, the platform it offers is great. The design is wonderful, and the contests it does offer are extremely well done and a joy to play.

Louisiana does not have legal online casinos, and currently, there is no plan to allow them in the future. For now, the only way to play poker and casino games will be to go to a physical retail casino in the state.

Not yet, but hopefully by the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022. Bettors in a majority of the parishes in Louisiana approved sports gambling. It is now up to regulators and the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to create regulations and hand out licenses to casinos or online sportsbooks so that residents have somewhere to bet.

Not yet, but there will be. A part of the legislation that was passed regarding sports betting in June of 2021 included the availability of a possible 41 online sportsbooks in the State of Louisiana. Many congressmen and women are hoping for a late-2021 launch.

21 is the legal betting age for casino games and most likely sports betting. This is a pretty universal number within states that have legalized sports gambling. The final decision will be up to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board; however, there is little chance that it is anything other than 21 years of age.

Bovada and MyBookie will allow you to bet on their offshore sportsbooks; however, the legality of this is up in the air when it comes to Louisiana as a state. These sportsbooks are unregulated and not licensed. This was a major reason as to why sports betting was legalized in the first place, to replace these unreliable offshore sportsbooks.

Currently, there are no legal sportsbooks in Louisiana. While casinos will be the first to allow sportsbooks, many experts expect DraftKings, BetMGM, and FanDuel to find ways to offer some sort of sportsbook in the state. Hopefully, these sportsbooks will be online and not just brick and mortar.

The expected launch date by many legislators is 2022; however, there is a chance that Louisiana gets its regulations together very quickly for a late 2021 launch. While sports betting is now legal in many parishes, there are still a lot of boxes to check with regulations before it is launched.

Yes, Louisiana will allow collegiate wagers in the state, including in-state college betting. This means that LSU and other in-state colleges will be eligable for wagers on the major sportsbooks that get licensed.

None yet; however, many of the major casinos like Harrahs and LAuberge Casino will be first in line to get licenses when the regulations are figured out. While sports betting got approved, the details have to be ironed out. It is also possible that these casinos will be allowed to partner with outside sportsbooks, like DraftKings, FanDuel, and others.

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Louisiana Sports Betting Signed into Law; Launch & Promo ...

Mississippi sports betting is staying offline.

Three bills aiming to expand MS sports betting to mobile platforms in the state died in committee this week.

Mississippi was one of the first states to launch sports betting in 2018 but continues to be restricted to retail sportsbooks. Multiple mobile betting bills have failed in the years following legalization.

Currently, mobile betting is allowed on a casinos property in the state. None of the states commercial casinos are using the so-called Mississippi mobile option though.

The three failed bills would have altered the betting landscape by bringing sports betting in Mississippi online:

Since launching in August 2018, Mississippi has generated $103 million in sports betting revenue, and $12.4 million in taxes on $890 million wagered.

In 2020, the states wagering created more than $43 million in revenue and $5.2 million in taxes. Unless the states 24 casino operators can open up statewide mobile, a wealth of potential tax revenue will continue to go into the illegal market.

Every day millions of Americans in 15 states have access to state-of-the-art mobile sportsbooks, allowing them to place bets on their favorite teams and leagues at home while fostering much-needed tax revenue, Sen. Philip Moran said in a release introducing SB 2732. Unfortunately, Mississippi law does not authorize online sports betting, but this bill seeks to change that.

Mississippi has been leaving money on the table by not authorizing online sports wagering, and it is time to modernize Mississippis gambling offerings and do whats best for Mississippians.

Even without the extra betting mobile would bring, Mississippi is watching its monthly handle grow, hitting an all-time high of $61.1 million in October 2020.

The first half of 2020 was slowed because of COVID-19. As sports returned in August, however, the states monthly handles continue to grow year-over-year.

Both November and December 2020 revenues more than doubled compared to 2019, drawing $8.1 million and $7.7 million respectively. Those numbers pale in comparison to markets with mobile wagering however.

Neighboring Tennessee launched mobile-only betting in late 2020, while AlabamaandFloridaoffer untapped potential. Arkansas has retail betting and Louisiana voters approved sports betting in November 2020.

In November and December, Tennessee brought in $5.4 million in taxes through its mobile betting.

The ability to draw potential customers from neighboring states is dwindling, however. Multiple stateslegislatures are looking at legalizing sports betting.

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Mobile Mississippi Sports Betting Bills Fail Again - Legal ...

The plus (+) and minus (-) in sports betting can refer to either the point spread or betting odds. In terms of the spread, the " - " always refers to the favorite and the " + " always refers to the underdog. For example, you can bet the Dallas Cowboys as a -7 point favorite to beat the Green Bay Packers or the Packers as a +7 point underdog. If you bet the Cowboys -7 and they win by more than seven points, you win your bet. Similarly, if you bet the Packers +7, as long as they lose by less than seven points or win outright, you win your bet.

It's a similar case for the betting odds, though favorites don't always have a " - ," especially in sports like baseball, hockey or soccer where final results are often decided by one run or one goal. It's especially the case in soccer since matches can end in draws, whereas a winner is declared in almost every other sport because of overtime rules. However, in most cases, the favorite will have a " - " in front of its moneyline odds while the underdog will always have a "+ ."

For an example of moneyline betting odds, you can bet the Eagles as a -150 favorite to win or the Giants as a +180 underdog to win. If you bet $100 on the Eagles to win at -150, you would net a payout of $166.70. If you bet on the Giants to win at +180, the payout would be $280 because they are an underdog.

For something like soccer, Arsenal could be a +150 favorite against Everton as a +190 underdog, while the draw would be set at +220. In this case, the payout would be decent for every situation mainly because the teams are even and there are three possible results compared to just two for something like football (unless they go scoreless in overtime). In this case where both teams have a " + " in front of their odds, the team with the lower number is the favorite. The lower number also means a lower payout, which is always the case for betting the favorite on the moneyline. A $100 bet on Arsenal +150 would net $250, while a $100 bet on Everton +190 would net $290. Going further, a $100 bet on the draw at +220 would payout $320.

Read More Sports Betting Q&As

Yes. But while betting on sports is legal in almost half the states in the country, not all of them allow online wagering.

Yes. Indiana passed a bill to allow sports betting in 2019 and wagering started in October with online betting opening a couple months later.

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What do + and - mean in sports betting? - RotoWire

Since Colorado launched legalized sports betting in May 2020, the state has collected nearly five times more money for water projects than anticipated, gaming officials said.

The start of the National Football Leagues season provided yet another welcome financial bump, with about $44 million in bets during its first weekend (Sept. 9-13), according to Daniel Hartman, director of the states Division of Gaming.

Football is going full bore. It was a big opening for us, Hartman said. It really is the biggest market for sports betting.

Money collected from gambling proceeds goes toward work meant to conserve water, protect natural habitats, improve infrastructure and more, according to Lauren Ris, deputy director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. And more money equals funding new projects under the Colorado Water Plan at a time when Colorado River reservoirs downstream are low.

Hartman said his office earmarked about $8 million from sports betting for the plan, which sets priorities through 2050 for projects in the following five categories: agriculture; conservation and land use; engagement and innovation; environment and recreation; and water storage and supply.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board doles out the money, and Ris said it tries to fund projects that check more than one box, like work with Colorado Springs Utilities that brings water from the Eagle River Basin to Colorado Springs and Aurora which she said opened up quite a bit of fish and boating habitat.

Before voters legalized sports betting, Ris said her department was awarding grants with whatever money officials found in their couch cushions.

At the outset, legislative analysts projected gambling could bring in between $9.7 million to $11.2 million in its first year, revenue department spokeswoman Suzanne Karrer said. But shortly after voters agreed to legalize the practice, state officials cut their estimates for 2020-2021 to between $1.5 million and $1.7 million in part because casinos werent willing to pay $125,000 every other year to host sports betting, Karrer said.

Even when the pandemic shut down leagues for a few months, gamblers flocked to sports betting made easy through apps. The $3 billion in bets from May 2020 to July 31, 2021, translates into $9.4 million in state revenue, Hartman said.

People found a new way to watch and enjoy sports while they were at home and not actually in the stadiums, he said.

Colorado had four online businesses taking bets in 2020 (casinos were closed); in 2021, there are now 25 online operators and 17 casinos in the towns of Cripple Creek, Central City and Blackhawk.

Ris said the board cant give out any of this windfall until next summer, after the 2022 General Assembly grants it permission to spend the money.

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Sports betting raking in millions more than expected for Colorado water projects - Canon City Daily Record

Marylands new sports gambling law allows state regulators to issue temporary licenses to companies that have undergone background checks here or in other states.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission announced last week it will utilize this provision as part of a push to get the new industry up and running in time for the NFL playoffs.

The commissions online licensing portal opened Thursday to the 17 brick-and-mortar sites that were specifically granted a license in the legislation, a list dominated by casinos, race tracks, off-track betting locations and professional sports stadiums.

The commission is not ready to accept applications for the 30 additional brick-and-mortar licenses or the 60 mobile licenses that are available.

The partial opening of the e-licensing platform likely means that many of the 17 named businesses will get a head start on companies that have never gone through a licensing review.

That could give established companies an advantage over potential start-ups and home-grown businesses not named in the bill, critics warn.

Weve waited this long. We need to do our due diligence and not rely on any other licensing or decision-making that was made, said Del. Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince Georges), head of the House Economic Matters Committee.

We do our own homework, and whenever its ready, its ready.

Davis said he understands the desire to launch Marylands betting industry as quickly as possible; many of his constituents are eager to place bets legally.

But he said Maryland risks lawsuits if it doesnt treat all potential applicants equally. Theres no need to get cute or sloppy now. [We must] make sure that were fair to everyone, so we dont end up in court, he said.

Sen. Craig Zucker (D-Montgomery), who helped shepherd the sports betting bill through the legislature, said Marylands law was crafted to cut down on the bureaucracy while still making sure that all sportsbooks are properly vetted.

As was the case when Maryland legalized casino gambling, state law requires that applicants and their suppliers, partners and employees undergo criminal and financial screenings.

We wanted to be diligent, Zucker said. We wanted to be thoughtful. We wanted to be thorough. But we also didnt want to re-create the wheel for some of the players that were already partnered with Maryland.

Declan Hill, a journalist who has chronicled sports gambling scandals, called it not acceptable to rely solely on another states investigations process.

Its unfair [to] a start-up company thats trying to do things right, trying to cross their ts and dot their is, if the big boys just come in and say, Hey, no problem, Nevadas already checked us out, said Hill, a professor at the University of New Haven.

Weve got to have one starting line for everybody. Everybody has to go through due diligence in Maryland, he said.

He called the globalized world of sports gaming complicated and messy.

The lottery and gambling commissions announcement that it will consider temporary licenses to businesses that have been undergone prior vetting follows prodding from Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R).

In August he told Maryland Matters he has pushed state regulators to move as quickly as possible.

Most of Marylands neighbors allow betting on sports events. New Jerseys handle is now larger than Nevadas.

I pressed them pretty hard about making sure we get it done at least by the end of football season when all the betting takes place, really in the playoffs and the Super Bowl, Hogan said in August.

Eric Ramsey, a sports betting analyst for PlayMaryland.com, said there is little concrete evidence that companies will get a lasting advantage from a temporary head start.

We havent really seen brand loyalty, he said. [Bettors are] much more concerned about which operator is going to give them the best promotions.

Everyone wants to be first, and the first operators will certainly acquire the first batches of customers, Ramsey added. But those first customers will keep trying sportsbooks as new ones come into the market. Theyre not just going to stick with the first brand they found.

Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said on Monday that the state is prepared to pull any temporary license it issues if a subsequent investigation raises red flags.

The newly created Sports Wagering Application Review Commission (SWARC) holds its second meeting on Tuesday.

Under state law, the SWARC reviews applications to determine whether they meet Marylands criteria, then the Lottery and Gaming Control Commission conducts criminal and financial background investigations.

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Sports Betting Approval Process Offers Head Start to Established Applicants Maryland Matters - Josh Kurtz

The prominence of sports betting is continuously thriving throughout different countries, thanks to the power and reach of modern technology. Distance is no longer a concern in sports tournaments, as digital betting makes things possible. However, sports betting isnt too much appreciated and practiced in Maryland. This leaves the state lagging when it comes to the development and adaptability of the sports community in coping up with modern concerns, such as the pandemic. Given that, here is a brief piece of information about the legalization of sports betting in Maryland, as well as the requirements needed for it to be done.

Legalization of Sports Betting in Maryland

Earlier this year, lawmakers in Maryland deliberated and talked about the legalization of sports betting within the state. As it was proven that operators are already gaining access to the state, the government passed constitutional laws to help Marylanders bet on their most-awaited sports tournament yet with wagers. This is in connection to the upcoming NFL season in September.

Behind this, the timeline was a bit ambitious. The people must wait for a few months to see the first sportsbooks in Maryland that accept bets. These months are intended for the pondering and establishment of rules thatll govern the industry to prevent any concern or crime from affecting the community. Still, the lawmakers approved the legalization, yet regulators are still ensuring the goodness and benefits to gain from this new law of the state. In fact, even Governor Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. approved the sports betting law back in May and emphasized that getting it completely done is impossible before the upcoming football season.

Moreover, here are the processes and requirements to approve the sports betting operators:

1.First, the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission must select and provide licenses to operators who passed the criteria. The selection process involves financial and criminal background investigations. Also, for this month, there must be an established public comment section wherein more than 200 pages of agency regulations must be opened and processed for at least 30 days.

Another thing, regulators might wait a long time in creating policies to safeguard money plunking from the Sportsbooks of Maryland confidently.

2.Second, the sports wagering system must be regulated the same way with casino gaming. Both have a related nature of work. So, to qualify the license for the betting operator, it must be done the same way for casino workers. Hence, it means that the process is thorough and meticulous. Also, the agency must see to it that the betting regulator applicants have both financial stability and integrity to be licensed individuals.

Moving on, here are the 17 locations approved and identified by the bill this year for casino and sports betting activities.

Overall, sports betting in Maryland is still in the process of legalization. There is still a lot of time and consideration needed to be filed with the lawmakers of the state to ensure that Maryland bettors can confidently place their bets in any sport they want. Above all these, it is sure that the bill includes the exception of minors and kids to be involved in sports betting. As this is a form of gambling like casino gaming, children arent allowed to make any contact, nor make transactions within sports betting websites and platforms in Maryland. Adults are the only allowed players and bettors on this platform.

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When Is Sports Betting Heading to Maryland? - The Southern Maryland Chronicle

Posted on: September 23, 2021, 11:30h.

Last updated on: September 24, 2021, 03:28h.

Backers of what would be potentially a third sports betting measure on the 2022 California general election ballot say a survey taken earlier this summer indicates Golden State voters back their plan to legalize the gaming product statewide.

Earlier this week, Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support released poll findings from David Binder Research that indicated 62 percent of likely voters would support the creation of a fund to offer permanent shelters for the unhoused and increase services for those struggling with mental health and addiction issues. Only 25 percent currently oppose.

The funding to solve those issues would come from legalizing sports betting statewide, with both commercial and tribal operators able to participate. Its backed by seven current or aspiring operators that are willing to each put up $100 million for licenses to operate online in the largest US state.

But before any of that can happen, the group must first get nearly 1 million verified signatures on petition forms and have those documents turned in to county officials likely by late April in order to get the measure on the ballot.

Currently, the state attorney generals office is preparing the petition for the secretary of state. According to Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber, her office expects to get the paperwork around Nov. 4. Typically, groups circulating petitions for such measures have up to 180 days to collect signatures, but that timeframe can get compressed because of deadlines tied to the November election.

Regardless, proponents are confident they can get the 997,139 validated signatures to make the ballot.

We expect the initiative to win broad support across all geographic and party lines, organization spokesperson Nathan Click told Casino.org this week.

As Attorney General Rob Bontas office prepares the initiative, it is also going through a customary 30-day review where the public can review the entire measure and submit comments. Comments will be accepted through next Thursday.

The sports betting operators behind the measure are: Ballys Interactive, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, FanDuel, Penn National/Barstool Sportsbook, and WynnBET. They formally announced their initiative in late August, having committed $100 million for the campaign.

Under their plan, online sports betting licenses would be available for $100 million. Tribal gaming entities could also receive online licenses for $10 million, but they would not be able to partner with a commercial skin. In other words, the mobile app would have to be under either the tribes name or its casino.

In that aspect, the group says its initiative complements the ballot measure California tribal leaders submitted earlier this year. Several tribal entities joined forces to get a retail-only initiative on the ballot, and California elections officials verified their petition in late May.

In addition to brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at the tribal casinos, the measure also allows the states thoroughbred racetracks Del Mar, Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos, and Santa Anita Park to operate a retail sportsbook. Racing officials have said sports betting would be a way for them to boost purses and attract more horses and horsemen to their meets.

One group thats left out of the sportsbooks and the tribal measures are the state-licensed cardrooms. But they would be included in a measure led by a group called Cities for Responsible Sports Betting announced its petition filing with the attorney generals office a couple of weeks before the sportsbook initiative.

Cities for Responsible Sports Betting would also allow tribal gaming operators, state-licensed gaming establishments, and professional sports leagues to offer sports betting. It also allows for online wagering.

Similar to the sportsbooks efforts, the cities plan calls for the tax revenues from sports betting to address homelessness and mental health issues. Proceeds could also go toward public education or COVID-19 relief.

The 30-day comment period for the cities measure has passed. The secretary of states office expects to be issued on or around Oct. 18. Once that petition drive stars, it will also require 997,139 valid signatures.

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Seven Sportsbooks Back Third Potential Sports Betting Act on '22 California... - Casino.Org News

Sports betting in Illinois was launched in March of last year and this state quickly became part of the top five states with the largest sports wagering market in the United States. However, July seems to be the worst month for the states betting industry because of its significant dip in revenue.

Last week, the Illinois Gaming Board has finally released its sports betting figures for July and according to their report, the states betting revenue has dropped to $369.1 million. In June, the states betting handle was at $476.5 million and so, the July revenue is down 22.5 percent.

Based on the report, DraftKings topped the betting market with a total of $122.7 million betting handles from retail and online. FanDuel then accepted a total of $118.5 million in online and retail wagers. Overall, DraftKings generated a total of $9.5 million in gross gaming revenue and FanDuel was able to get $15.5 million.

PlayIllinois.coms lead analyst, Joe Boozell, shared his thoughts on how these two giants in the US betting industry are doing. He said, FanDuel continues to wring out an impressive amount of revenue from the bets it takes in.

DraftKings answered with Same Game Parlays, which could help bridge the revenue gap with FanDuel. That fierce competition between the two market leaders will only grow during football season, with younger operators limited in their ability to make significant gains on the leaders with in-person registration in place.

Why the Down Trend?

There are a few logical reasons why this happened and one of them is how in-person registration is now once again required by the state. Last year, Governor JB Pritzker signed an executive order to waive this requirement because of the pandemic. However, now that casinos have already reopened, the EO is no longer in effect, and punters should then go to licensed casinos and register to be able to place their bets online. This could be a tedious process to some and its most likely that many have started to once again place their bets offshore or on an online casino website in India or bookie that is based and licensed elsewhere.

Chris Grove who is an industry analyst for Eilers&Krejcik Gaming said that the in-person registration requirement can only really limit the market. According to Grove, at least 75 and as much as 90 percent of the total sports bets is placed in a state with both online and retail sports betting so the in-person registration requirement just doesnt make sense.

Another plausible reason for Julys revenue drop is that it has always been a slow month for sports betting in all of the states where there is legal betting. This is because there arent plenty of sports events that people are so willing to wager on.

In Illinois, it was baseball hasnt been getting that much attention but its the sport that the locals bet on the most in July when the revenue went down. This just shows that there just really werent many events for the people to wager on. The Olympics was on but people didnt seem to show much interest and PlayUSA.coms analyst, Eric Ramsey, gave a reason why.

Ramsey said, With events held in the middle of the night in many cases and sports that are a bit unfamiliar to bettors, the Olympics did not appear to draw a lot of wagering. In the end, the traditional team sports are still by far the largest draw for bettors, which is why football is so important for sportsbooks.

July features fewer prime betting opportunities and casual bettors are more occupied with vacations and other activities, and there arent many sportsbooks can do about that. Illinois sportsbooks have done well by increasing their hold over the summer months, which puts operators in a good position as casual bettors return, he added.

Expectations for the Following Months

While July has been quite a month for Illinois local sports betting, hopes are up that the following months will be better. This is especially because it is already the NFL season and that the Chicago White Sox will be going to the playoffs.

Gambling.coms analyst Ron Fritz said that the numbers should be able to rebound in the coming months because of these. Fritz said, It will be interesting to see numbers from baseball combined with the NFL. That is why I think August and September could threaten the record of $632 million in March.

Meanwhile, Grove is saying thats its still too early to say if the in-person registration requirement will get in the way of having better numbers in the coming months. He said, Its too early to say definitively, but the reality is that Illinois is a big state with strong sports fandom and a roster of top-tier sportsbooks, so theres no reason why it wont be one of the more productive markets in the United States.

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Illinois Sports Betting Revenue Experienced a Drop in July - Illinoisnewstoday.com

What only four years ago was taboo for most of mainstream sports media, or was relegated to coded language and Off Broadway programming, is now so integral to sports discourse that major players must learn to speak the language without delay.

Thats the essence of the embarrassing social media admission made on Tuesday by ESPN personality Sarah Spain, co-host of the national radio show Spain and Fitz, a SportsCenter reporter, and columnist for espnW. A fixture on ESPN Radio since 2015 with a handful of co-pilots, Spain also announced that she had joined PointsBet Sportsbooks Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, which is chaired by former golf pro and broadcaster Notah Begay.

I know almost nothing about sports betting, said Spain, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning sports journalist. And Ive been able to fake it on my shows the last couple of years in little conversations that we have but now that its on the forefront, Ive gotta figure it out.

Spain did not respond to Sports Handles interview request.

I cant tell you whether the PointsBet-Spain marriage is more about the sportsbook wanting a brand ambassador to help expand the tent, or Spain deciding it was time to learn sports betting well enough to add another dimension to her radio program and overall editorial scope.

Probably a bit of both, and it probably will serve both purposes, but this strikes me as some kind of inflection point, where the climate is such that big-platform sports talkers apparently feel its imperative to discuss sports gambling and incorporate it into the show.

Ive really only gambled once on sports. This past Super Bowl I hit on 8 of my 11 bets, which kind of gave me the itch, but made me realize I dont know what the heck Im doing, Spain said in the Instagram video. And I was asking around and it felt like there were lots of other female sports fans in the same boat. Not that we havent [bet] before, but we sort of felt embarrassed or silly asking questions about it, and felt like maybe it wasnt a super inclusive space, or place where people were welcoming if youre not sure what youre doing.

#GamblingTwitter or pencil-chewers might not be welcoming, maybe, but the sportsbooks, at least if youre a recreational player, most certainly do not discriminate or exclude.

This does not go out to Spain, Spain and Fitz, or anyone at ESPN in particular only the producers and talent who feel as if they must venture into the sports gambling lane, regardless of whether the nudge is coming from commercial obligations or the U.S. sports zeitgeist.

Sports betting may now be too big and too legal to ignore, but its not for everyone maybe not even a programs current audience, some of whom may prefer to tune out, especially when the sports talk is already sandwiched by sportsbook ads. Also remember that, in sports betting, youre talking about gambling and money as much as, if not more, than sports.

And almost certainly youre talking about losing money. Sports betting is exceptionally fun, but its exceedingly difficult to actually win in the long term. Were talking a tiny fraction of players who actually do so. The rest are lying or really bad at accounting.

Take this from a professional sports bettor and industry analyst who goes by Captain Jack Andrews, co-founder of the recently launched sports betting educational site Unabated.

[Unabated] is about making people more sustainable bettors, Andrews told US Bets. Were not saying, Were going to train you to win more. Because, honestly, I dont think we can. Being a sharp sports bettor is more than just knowing the science of sports betting its about knowing the art of sports betting. I think were going to help people lose less, more than were going to help them win more.

Thats another thing: Sports betting theories and selections will be measured in betting units, not sound bites. Of course, the audience probably tunes in and comes back if they like the show and its hosts, forget the ATS record.

Colin Cowherds long-running Blazin Five segment has not always been so hot, but that audience is coming for the hot takes. I dont consume much Barstool, but based on observation and accounts, the big personalities at the personality-driven Barstool Sportsbook are pretty unspectacular at betting. But theyll sweat and suffer losses with you (while resting on a throne of Penn National stock), and humans need companionship more than most things.

On balance, over the past 18 months, it seems weve reached the launching-spaghetti-at-the-wall phase of sports betting programming. Toss some basics into the pot, add salt and a parlay, boil, let it fly, and see if it sticks.

Theres alternative sports betting broadcasts on NBC platforms and BetCasts elsewhere. All of the major pro sports are dabbling and injecting betting talk into their own branded networks. Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Charlie Sheen, Patton Oswalt, and Shaquille ONeal are now sportsbook brand ambassadors, aimed to reel in recreational players. (OK, not Sheen yet). DraftKings shelled out $50 million to buy former ESPN Radio voice Dan Le Batards podcast. Hundreds of new podcasts have launched, including one by yours truly that retired after a short run. The siren call says we should have a sports betting podcast! But the suit doesnt always fit.

ESPN, as of September 2020, calls DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook co-exclusive sports betting partners, and per a Wall Street Journal report is now looking to license its letters to a sportsbook for $3 billion.

At the Worldwide Leader, maybe some kind of edict came down (or soon will) that talent had better study up and devote some time and attention to sports betting. In only about two weeks, legal sports betting is set to arrive in Connecticut, where Bristol is ESPNs home base. Hold on to your hats, sports radio listeners in CT.

I recall about a year ago, before my MLB boycott (another story), watching Baseball Tonight when all of a sudden a DraftKings Sportsbook-sponsored segment appeared. All three on-air personalities made prop bet selections, one of them by preeminent MLB scribe Jeff Passan, on whether the first pitch of the game would be a ball or strike. The analysis itself seemed sound, but the segment as a whole just felt unnatural and forced.

(Engages his full-fledged suburban Dad).

Just dont lose the audience trying to find a new audience. Be yourself. Have fun. Dont drink or bet too much. Come up with a theory on the game and govern your bets based on that.

The point spread is the great equalizer. And lets all be grateful for that! Because games like tonights Thursday Night Football matchup are much more entertaining to talk about and watch when the Panthers are not just playing a bottom-feeding Texans squad starting rookie Davis Mills but laying 8 points on the road.

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Some Words Of Caution As Sports Media Shoves All In On Sports Betting - Sports Handle