Welcome to the latest edition of "Bet On It," where The Fly looks at news and activity in the sports betting and iGaming space.
SECTOR NEWS: The Nevada Gaming Control Board stated in a notice issued Thursday that effective 12:00 am on Tuesday, June 1, the Board rescinds all applicable COVID-19 mitigation protocols issued pursuant to section 18 of Emergency Directive 044, including, without limitation, Industry Notice #2021-41 and the Board's "Health and Safety Policy for Continued Mitigation of the Spread of COVID-19 for Nonrestricted Licensees." The notice stated: "As of June 1, 2021, none of Nevada's counties will retain social distancing or occupancy limitations that would apply to a gaming licensee. If the status of the spread of COVID-19 changes in such a way that a county amends its Local Plan, the Board expects each licensee to fully comply with such changes."
In other Las Vegas news, Nevada's non-restricted gaming licensees reported a total "gaming win" of $1.04B for the month of April 2021. This amounts to a 28,256% increase compared to April 2020, when licensees reported a gaming win of $3.67M. For the fiscal year July 1, 2020 through April 30, gaming win decreased 5.88%. The state reported April Las Vegas Strip gaming win of $483.4M versus $3.4M last year.
The William Hill Sportsbook at Monumental Sports & Entertainment's Capital One Arena officially opened on Wednesday, "becoming the first ever sports betting venue to open within a U.S. professional sports facility," announced Caesars (CZR). Caesars Entertainment recently completed its acquisition of William Hill, PLC and currently offers sports betting options in 18 U.S. states and territories, including over 170 retail sportsbooks.
Scientific Games (SGMS) announced the acquisition of SportCast, which it said "is recognized as a sports betting player engagement through product experiences, technologies and pricing." They are also credited with developing the original BetBuilder product, a feature that allows players to build bets across multiple markets on a single game with instant pricing through a user interface, or UI, according to the company.
Darren Rovell of Action Network HQ tweeted on Tuesday: "JUST IN: @FDSportsbook has struck a deal with The Associated Press to become their official odds provider. FanDuel's odds will appear in all of AP's game previews and stories when odds are mentioned." Flutter Entertainment has been assessing the potential merits of listing "a small stake" in FanDuel in the U.S.
In a regulatory filing, Caesars Entertainment director Bonnie Biumi disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company on May 24 at a price of $105.50 per share. In other casino stock buying and selling news, Cathie Wood's ARK Investment disclosed that it bought 121.5K shares of DraftKings (DKNG) on Tuesday.
CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR TO SIGN OSB BILL INTO LAW: Governor Ned Lamont applauded a bipartisan vote in the Connecticut State Senate giving final legislative approval to a bill that will legalize online gaming and sports wagering in Connecticut. The legislation, which was approved last week by the House of Representatives and will next be transmitted to the governor for his signature, comes as a result of an agreement the Lamont administration reached earlier this year with the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. Governor Lamont said that he plans to sign the bill in the coming days. Following that, the Lamont administration and the tribes will seek approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior to amend the state’s compact with the tribes. The federal agency needs to approve the changes to the compact before online gaming and sports wagering can begin in the state. Governor Lamont said, “This is a significant moment for our state as, for the first time, we will allow sports wagering, online casino gaming, and entry of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation into this space. I look forward to signing this legislation into law, which is in the best interests of the State of Connecticut and its citizens.” The state is hoping to start taking bets before the start of the 2021 National Football League season.
ARIZONA OBTAINS FEDERAL APPROVAL: The U.S. Department of Interior, or DOI, approved the amended Arizona tribal-state gaming compact on Monday kickstarting legal gambling on sporting events and fantasy sports, Jeremy Cluff of The Arizona Republic reported. This approval finalized a deal signed last month by Governor Doug Ducey and the state's tribal leaders. Reportedly, online fantasy sports operations can piggyback on the licenses. Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey told investors that House Bill 2772 formalized an amended compact that set out measures allowing consumers to bet on sports at tribal casinos and sites owned by major league sports teams in Arizona. With the DOI having given the green light to the bill, this now clears the way for the roll out of legal sports betting in Arizona, Hickey said. Similarly to Connecticut, Arizona will be looking to roll out legal sports gambling by the first game of the NFL season.
O CANADA: Canada single-game sports betting progressed further through the legislature on Tuesday, Brad Allen of Legal Sports Report reported. Bill C-218 was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. The legislation would reportedly amend the Criminal Code of Canada to allow wagering on single events and not just parlays. Bill sponsor Kevin Waugh told LSR the bill was a 50/50 proposition and that it had to come out of the legislature by June or it wouldn’t pass this year. The committee now conducts a review of the bill and reports back to the rest of the Senate. As for the next steps, Allen reported that the Senate does a third reading, then votes. If approved, the legislation goes back to the House for re-approval, then to the Governor General’s office for Royal Assent. The Senate has approximately five weeks of potential sitting days before its summer recess. LSR noted that could make things tight, especially if there are amendments to C-218.
PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES IN THE SPACE INCLUDE: Accel Entertainment (ACEL), Bally's (BALY), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Churchill Downs (CHDN), DraftKings (DKNG), Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), Gan Limited (GAN), Genius Sports (GENI), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN), Rush Street Interactive (RSI), Scientific Games (SGMS), Score Media (SCR) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).
Caesars
-0.62 (-0.57%)
Scientific Games
+0.71 (+0.98%)
Use FLUT
+0.195 (+0.21%)
DraftKings
+0.09 (+0.18%)
Accel Entertainment
+0.15 (+1.15%)
Bally's
+ (+0.00%)
Boyd Gaming
-0.545 (-0.83%)
Churchill Downs
-4.52 (-2.22%)
Gan Limited
-0.01 (-0.06%)
Genius Sports
-1.215 (-4.87%)
Las Vegas Sands
-0.57 (-0.97%)
MGM Resorts
-0.65 (-1.48%)
Penn Entertainment
-0.21 (-0.25%)
Rush Street Interactive
-0.25 (-1.99%)
Score Media
-0.28 (-1.63%)
Wynn Resorts
-0.15 (-0.11%)