Sports Data Industry News & Updates - February 2020
With the National Football League season concludes with the playing of the Super Bowl, things have started to slow down a little bit in the sports betting world. That will all change again in a month when the brackets are revealed, and the 2020 NCAA Tournament tips off what is always a crazy and exciting three weeks of basketball.
Even though the games have slowed down a bit, there has still been plenty going on at SportsDataIO.
Company News
Our Aggregated Odds Service continues to take front seat with product development, with the recent addition of MGM and Unibet. We have also upgraded DraftKings with FanDuel and PointsBet to follow by month’s end. “Upgraded” in this case, means those books now come with all prop markets, futures, and alternative game odds.
We have also finished work on our Live In-Play Win Probability Model for NFL. We expect this to be rolled out across all sports soon, delivered from our API, allowing clients to build beautiful, sticky visualizations for their live match pages.
The next big events on the sports calendar are March Madness and MLB, which will both have full coverage coming from us. Do you have any content gaps that need filling? Get in touch to discuss!
Customer Spotlight - BETSPERTS
We were chosen by BETSPERTS about a year ago to power their new social betting platform, and what a year it’s been for them! Read more here about how they saw an opportunity in a post-PASPA world and jumped at the chance to build something unique in a crowded field of emerging technologies.
Around the Industry
Here are a few of the biggest news stories from around the sports betting industry over the last few weeks.
- Penn National Gaming Buys Barstool Sports: Penn National Gaming has agreed to buy Barstool Sports for $450 million. Barstool Sports generated close to $100 million in revenue in 2019, and Penn National will now turn the online blog site into a sports betting site. (Link)
- CBS and WilliamHill announce official partnership: CBS and WilliamHill announced an exclusive partnership for WilliamHill to be the official sportsbook and data partner across all CBS digital properties between now and the start of the 2020 football season. (Link)
- DFS in Jeopardy in New York: A New York State appeals court recently ruled that Daily Fantasy Sports websites are unconstitutional in the state of New York. The court case White vs. Cuomo is a debate on whether or not gambling is unconstitutional, and will continue to be appealed in higher courts. (Link)
- No Sports Betting in Maine: Maine governor Janet Mills recently vetoed a sports betting bill, and the House of Representatives failed to override the veto this week. Maine was looking to become the 21st state to legalize sports betting, but the matter will now be closed until 2021. (Link)
- PointsBet, NBA Reach Agreement: PointsBet Sportsbook has agreed to a deal with the NBA that will give them access to official NBA betting data and league marks. In addition to this deal, PointsBet will also begin implementing a Win-Probability metric, which is the first time this has ever been done. (Link)
- New Jersey Sportsbooks Have Another Huge Month: Sportsbooks in the state of New Jersey took over $540 million in bets during the month of January, with much of the action coming on NFL Playoff games. Mobile/online sports betting accounted for nearly 87 percent of all betting handle in January. (Link)
- Verizon Expanding Yahoo Sports App: Verizon recently acquired the Yahoo Sports app, and it is planning on turning it into a huge betting platform. BetMGM will be the sportsbook behind the app that could be a huge player in the mobile betting industry. (Link)
- Marquee Sports Network Launching Betting Show: Marquee Sports Network will be the new home of the Chicago Cubs, but it will also be launching a new betting show titled, “Follow the Money.” Vegas Stats & Information Network will produce the show that is set to air on weekday mornings. (Link)
- 50% of States Could Legalize by 2022: Bank of America is reporting that 50 percent of the US population could see legalized sports betting by 2022. Estimates have the sports betting industry set to make between $6 to $20 billion by 2022. (Link)
Legal Updates
The topic of sports betting is at the center of discussion at several states in the US, and other states are moving towards launch. Here are some of the most noteworthy progress reports from states who are taking the next step.
Colorado: Colorado is targeting May 1 as the date of its launch, but there are still some things that need to happen to make that work. The Colorado Department of Revenue, and the Division of Gaming, recently met to discuss all of the applications that have been flooding in. There have been a total of 62 license applications submitted with 33 master license applications received.
The discussion of rules and regulations was also a major focal point of this meeting, and several topics were addressed. Key stakeholders met for several hours to discuss and throw out ideas, and they are set to reconvene on Feb. 20 at the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission’s meeting. They will also review applications in hopes of having everything ready to go by May 1.
Connecticut: Lawmakers in Connecticut have moved past the discussion stage, and have finally unveiled a new sports betting and gaming bill. The 41-page bill is titled, “An Act Concerning Jobs In and Revenue From the Gaming Industry,” is being sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. State-wide mobile and retail sports betting will be legalized if this new bill is approved.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes would be running the new sports betting industry, as they currently run the casino industry. They are in support of this sweeping change, but they will also be forced to pay close to $88 million to the state of Connecticut. These two tribes currently combine to pay close to $51 million to different organizations and cities in Connecticut.
Kansas: The idea of legalizing sports betting in the state of Kansas took a step in the right direction late in January when the Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee met with leads from several sportsbooks. Those sportsbooks are in support of SB 283, which would legalize mobile sports betting throughout the state. Casinos and retail sportsbooks would be in charge of offering betting to the public.
Kansas lawmakers will be in session until the end of May, and a bet is expected to take place sometime between now and then. SB 283 is proposing a 10% tax on gross revenue of online wagers, and a 7.5% tax on gross revenue of retail sports betting.
Kentucky: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear pushed for the legalization of sports betting in a recent press conference, and he is fully behind House Bill 137. Beshear, a Democrat, is in his first term as governor of Kentucky, and he is hoping that the Republican Party in the Senate will get behind this bill as well. HB137 was presented by Adam Koenig, who has also been working to get support.
The discussion will be on the table until April 15 when the Kentucky General Assembly adjourns for the year. Kentucky has seen several neighboring states legalize sports betting in recent months, and they are losing out on important tax revenue.
Nebraska: Senator Justin Wayne introduced a bill to legalize sports betting in Nebraska, calling sports betting, DFS, and poker games of skill. The Nebraska state constitution strictly prohibits games of chance being legalized, which is why Wayne used the language that he did. LB990 was introduced as a way to keep tax dollars in the state of Nebraska as opposed to seeing those tax dollars bet on sports in Iowa.
Bill LB990 did not mention mobile or online sports wagering, but it is expected to be included in any bill going forward. The bill introduced by Wayne sets the legal gambling age at 19, and he allowed for betting on in-state college teams, which has been a point of contention in other states. The 49-person unicameral legislature in Nebraska will continue to discuss this bill, and a ⅔ vote is required to pass the bill.
Virginia: Both the House and Senate in Virginia have passed sports betting bills, but they haven’t passed the same one. Both bills will now head to the other governing body for debate, and both bills will likely be sent back. The major issue it appears is whether or not betting on in-state collegiate teams, and sporting events are going to be legalized.
The Senate bill has a tax rate of 15%, while the House bill proposes a tax rate of 20%. The Senate bill also allows for betting at professional sports stadiums, and they set a date of July 1, 2020, to get this plan implemented and launched. This will be a debate and a discussion to keep our eye on in the coming weeks.
Washington: There are currently two sports betting bills on the table in the state of Washington, and both are expected to move forward in the coming weeks. Both bills would allow for tribal-only sports betting, and HB 2638 has been moved to the House Appropriations Committee.
Senate bill 6394 is a step further, moving out of committee and onto the Senate floor for debate. Leaders in the Washington Senate are hoping that the House of Representatives will get their bill passed, and are willing to sit back and wait on the issue. Tribal leaders in Washington are in favor of legalizing sports betting as long as they can keep the revenue.
Sam Pearson
Sam Pearson is a Senior Account Executive for SportsDataIO and has been with the company since September of 2020. Sam currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, but grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. You can always find him catching up on the latest and greatest in the sports world, actively following the Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks.
