The Week In Sports Betting News: Ohio Takes Next Step; Will MA Pass? – Legal Sports Report

Happy Monday, everyone. While the sports calendar is hitting its slowest point of the year, there is still plenty of sports betting news with eyes on states like Ohio and Massachusetts.

The LSR Podcast had plenty of hot topics for its most recent episode including DraftKings CEO Jason Robins still talking about limiting sharps, and insider trading allegations surrounding the Penn National-Score Media merger.

As always, there are multiple ways to get updates from LSR throughout the week. Follow LSR on Twitter @LSPReport and tune into NewsWire on SportsGrid Monday-Friday at 2:25 pm Eastern for a recap of the days biggest stories.

There were no significant updates to share out of the conference committee negotiating a Massachusetts sports betting bill, Chairman Jerry Parisella told LSR Monday.

Only update is that we are still working out the differences and hopeful to get a bill to the floor before the end of the session, Parisella said.

The two sides have until the end of the formal session on July 31 to get a bill passed. Tax rates, college betting, total licenses and a proposed advertising ban are key issues that need to be resolved.

Watch out for May revenue reports from New Hampshire and Rhode Island, both of which should be out this week, for some positive impact out of Massachusetts.

With 14 states reporting, May handle is down from April around 12% on average. That is not a surprise, of course, as spring is the typically the beginning of the sports betting slowdown that continues until NFL betting picks back up.

Connecticut sportsbooks are bucking that trend, though, with handle down just 1.1% from April. The reason for that seems simple: Massachusetts residents had to travel to bet on the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs.

Considering the Celtics made the NBA Finals, the June reports for those three states should show a positive bump as well.

The application period for Ohio sports betting is now live, though there are still more than six months to go before the first legal bet is accepted Jan. 1.

BetMGM and PointsBet were the only two US sports betting operators to submit applications during the first week after the period opened June 15. Both applied for mobile licenses, while BetMGM also applied for a retail license.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission will update the list of applicants every Friday.

Gov. Larry Hogan demanded the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission speed up the launch of mobile sports betting in Maryland last Wednesday. Hogan wants mobile betting live by Sept. 8 for NFL betting.

The SWARC, which met the following day, did not immediately jump into action though. While Chairman Thomas Brandt acknowledged that many are frustrated, there was still no definitive timeline given at the meeting.

Retail betting launched in December at five casinos but a mobile launch could stretch into 2023.

Only 19%of bettors using offshore sites in regulated states know they are betting with unlicensed operators, a new survey from the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association found.

The percentage of bettors exclusively using offshore sites is 24% in states with legal online betting, the survey found. There has also been very little cannibalization for daily fantasy sports. Just 2% of sports bettors that played fantasy first are no longer playing fantasy games.

African Americans in Gaming is now a strategic partner of SBC, which provides the organization a platform to share insights on how to make gaming more diverse.

There will be an African Americans in Gaming networking session during SBC Summit North America 2022, which runs from July 12-14 in New Jersey.

DraftKings took a big step in its responsible gambling offerings last week through its partnership with BetBlocker.

BetBlocker is a not-for-profit operation that lets gamblers set restrictions on their gambling across multiple devices. The program blocks both regulated and offshore websites, and allows a wide range of customization in terms of limiting bets.

Tally Technologies, which has a free-to-play prediction game, closed an oversubscribed $4 million funding round in early June.

The funding was led by sports betting and gaming investor Acies Investments. The funds will be used to expand operations, add more game types and invest in its data platform.

Tally recorded more than 20 million predictions from unique users over the past four years. Fan engagement partners include teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL and other professional sports organizations.

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The Week In Sports Betting News: Ohio Takes Next Step; Will MA Pass? - Legal Sports Report