Welcome to iGB’s State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we’ve covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.
MO wagering coming online sooner than expected?
Legal Missouri sports betting could be available sooner than mandated. The new law, passed by voters 5 November, requires the state gaming commission to launch operators by 1 December 2025. But on 2 January, Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) chairman Jan Zimmerman told Sports Betting Dime, “Depending on how quickly the process goes with getting the rules to the governor’s office, getting them signed, getting everything to the attorney general’s office, we could be looking at earlier in the summer than we anticipated”.
The emergency rules process is moving more quickly than expected, said Zimmerman. She is hopeful that the emergency regs will reach the governor and attorney general for approval by the end of January. Should that happen, the MGC could open the licencing process in late February or March.
The new Missouri law allows for statewide retail and digital betting. Existing casinos and professional sports teams/venues can each have one brick-and-mortar sportsbook. For digital licences, the MGC last year interpreted the rules to say that each retail casino and pro sports venue can have one online partner. The interpretation of the law is different than expected, as it initially appeared that each casino company would get a skin, but not each location.
The MGC’s first meeting of 2025 is set for 15 January.
California tribes sue card rooms
Late last year, the California state legislature approved and Governor Gavin Newsom approved a bill giving the tribes one shot to sure card rooms. At issue is the the legality of how the card rooms offer their table games. California’s tribes have exclusivity for house-banked gambling. Card rooms have traditionally offered player-banked games, but beginning in 2007, started using player-dealers, also known as third-party providers of proposition player services (TPPPS). The tribes believes this violates their exclusivity.
Because they are sovereign nations, tribes cannot sue other entities in the US. But SB 549 gives them one chance, and would allow the courts to settle the lingering issue. The tribes had until 1 April to file the lawsuit, but did so yesterday (2 January) in Sacramento superior court.
DraftKings selling odds boosts
DraftKings is now offering bettors a chance to buy better odds on parlays, Sportico reported 3 January. The company is offering DraftKings Sportsbook+ for $20 a month. The service is currently only available to “select” New York customers. Bettors will get “boosts for all parlays where the individual legs are -500 or narrower”, Sportico wrote. How much of a boost depends on the size of the parlay, and ranges from a 10%-100% boost.
“The subscription service was designed to offer our customers an enhanced fan experience, creating more excitement and value to our extensive parlay offering”, DraftKings said in a statement.
NH bill could up legal gambling age
New Hampshire is one of five US jurisdictions in which the minimum age for sports betting is 18. But that could change in 2025. HB 83, a bipartisan bill that would raise the minimum age to 21, is set to be filed 8 January. If the bill passes, the new law would go into effect on 1 January 2026.
According to a fiscal note attached to the bill, the change could cost the state up $640,000 (£517,527/€621,056) in tax revenue.
Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Washington, DC and Wyoming are the other US jurisdictions that allow 18-year-olds to place bets. The legal age in every other US state is 21.
Multiple OK wagering bills coming
Besides SB 125, a bill that would allow for changes to tribal compacts to allow sports betting, two other legal wagering bills are coming to Oklahoma.
SB 125, filed 27 December, would allow statewide digital sports betting. Wagering could only launch if at least four tribes sign on. The bill has a sliding scale (5%-7%) for revenue share between the tribes and the state, and earmarks 88% of state revenue for the “Education Reform Revolving Fund”.
In the house, HB 1047 is a similar bill set to drop 3 February. A third bill, SB 165, would authorise retail and digital “pools” run by the lottery through its retailers. That bill, prefiled 30 December 2024, allows for tribes to participate, but only for in-person pools. According to the text of the bill, set to be filed 3 February, a tribe can participate “only if a cooperative agreement authorising the Commission to do so has been entered into by the Governor and such a tribe and has been further approved by the Joint Committee on State-Tribal relations”.
Under the proposal, retail participants would not pay a licence fee. Instead, they would pay 15% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to the state. Digital participants would pay a $500,000 application fee, a $100,000 annual renewal fee and 20% of AGR to the state. The proposal earmarks a $1 million annual contribution to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse services for gambling addiction initiatives.
Worth the read …
As the calendar turns to 2025, those interested in a downstate New York casino licence are on the clock. Bids are due to the state by 27 June. Gothamist’s Arun Venugopal breaks down the timeline and key elements of a bid, and offers an overview of each prospective bid. Read the full story here.
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