IGB looks at the gambling news from over the weekend.
NY Casino Process: Get moving!
New York State Assemblyman Gary Pretlow and Senator Joe Addabbo introduced a bill to speed up the timeline for NY casinos. Regulators announced earlier this year that they planned to award licenses for upstate casinos before 31 December 2025. This bill requires bids be submitted by the 31st of July, and that New York State Gaming Commission award licenses by March 31, 2025. This bill lists 17 different areas that applicants are required to address, from capital expenditures to partnerships and workforce training to demographic plans to “harmony”.
The New York Post stated that a shorter timeline may benefit some parties while hurting others. Addabbo’s district is bordered by Aqueduct which was the site of the Resorts World proposal. Pretlow is located near Yonkers Race Track.
A longer runway would be beneficial to Steve Cohen’s Citi Field NY Casino proposal. This project requires legislative action in order to proceed. A project could create new jobs for state employees and generate new revenues.
Pretlow said to the Post, “I have been working hard to move the process along.” It’s too slow. “We’re leaving over $2bn untapped.”
NCAA: One third of high-profile athletes are harassed by betting
A report by the NCAA released on May 17 revealed that 1 in 3 high-profile sports stars received abuse messages sent to them from someone who had a gambling interest. Five thousand and four hundred “online threats and abuse” were flagged. One percent of them was betting-related and targeted at basketball players. Signify Group was contracted by the NCAA to conduct a study on March Madness. Signify Group examined 1,000 student athletes, 280 coach, 120 officials, and 64 teams.
In “sports where there is a lot of gambling”, 15-25% of the abuses are related to betting, according to the study. Women’s basketball athletes are also three times as likely to face threats than male players.
New Mexico
Caesars Sportsbook announced Monday, 20 May that it has opened up three in-person betting locations in New Mexico. The Route 66 Casino Hotel, Casino Xpress and Dancing Eagle Casino are all accepting bets. Caesars obtained market access via Laguna Development, a commercial arm of Pueblo of Laguna.
New Mexico doesn’t allow digital betting on sports and only its tribal nations have exclusive gaming rights.
Virginia Governor says No to Games of Skill
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed 48 bills on Friday, 17 May. These games aren’t regulated by the state and have attracted attention from Pennsylvania as well as other states. Youngkin wrote in his letter that “a robust system of protections” must be implemented by the state. Youngkin said that the state legislature had not adopted his recommendations and that they were “regrettable”. He is open to further discussion.
American Gaming Association issued a press release in support of Youngkin’s veto. Bill Miller, CEO of the Virginia Gaming Association said that the move would “protect communities from illegal gaming machines” and maintain not only the ban originally passed by Virginia’s General Assembly in 2020, but also subsequent court rulings.
Other news…
The Chicago Tribune completed its last press run in the Freedom Center. As construction on the Bally’s Casino Complex begins, The Chicago Tribune will be moving its print run to a suburb.
Iowa’s Q Casino and Resort is launching its newly renovated casino floor on 24 May. The grand opening will take place through Memorial Day Weekend, with live music and prizes.
The Potawatomi Tribe of Wisconsin is working on a mobile app for its site that will be available in 2025. The Tribe opened their retail sportsbook in the last few weeks.
