Rhode Island Joins The Legalised Sports Betting Vertical
First bets accepted on Monday at Twin Rivers Casino
Rhode Island joined those US states that have legalised and are accepting sports bets on Monday when the first bets were accepted at the Twin Rivers Casino, with more locations to come in December.
The casino has partnered with IGT-William Hill in launching the new vertical, which was originally planned for October 1 but has been delayed by regulatory and commercial negotiations.
The late start means that lawmakers will have to recalculate their projected figures, which originally predicted $23.5 million in state taxes though June 2019…analysts have suggested that the figure could be cut by almost half as the delayed start meant that Rhode Island punters missed much of the key National Football League season’s betting.
The Rhode Island dispensation will see the state receiving 51 percent of all revenue from wagering, while the vendor will earn 32 percent, and the casinos will claim the remaining 17 percent.
Initially, betting is being offered on the four major American professional sports leagues, as well as NCAA football and basketball contests, with other sports added to the list of options in the future.
State law prevents gamblers from wagering on Rhode Island college teams.
Rhode Island Lawmaker Pushing For Mobile Sportsbetting (Update)
Expansion already in sight as legal sports betting kicks off in New England
Rhode Island Democratic Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is reportedly poised to introduce a proposal in the legislative session beginning January 2019 that would allow mobile sportsbetting within State lines.
The implementation of mobile wagering, which would primarily generate more revenue for the State, will also provide convenient wagering options to Rhode Islanders who would place their bets through the Twin River Casino after registering an account, Ruggerio said Tuesday.
This development follows the launch of in-person sports betting at Twin River Casino this week, the first legal sports gambling facility in the New England region. Twin River’s Tiverton facility is expected to begin sports gambling in early December.
Betgenius And IGT To Power First Tribal Gaming Sports Betting Offer
Online and mobile wagering in the pipeline
US Sports betting deals abound with Betgenius the latest in an agreement with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians for the delivery of a complete sportsbook management system including live sports data feeds, price management for pre-game and in-play odds across all major U.S. sports, and a bespoke, end-to-end price and risk management service.
Betgenius’ sportsbook trading console is integrated into IGT’s PlayShot sports betting platform, which is live at two of Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ resorts in Mississippi.
The casino operator recently launched the sportsbook at its Pearl River Resort in Mississippi, where patrons can place wagers over the counter at the recently opened Timeout Lounge at Gold Moon Casino and also at its satellite sportsbook located at the Bok Homa Casino near Laurel, Mississippi. Mobile and online wagering is also planned as part of the deal.
Jack Davison, Chief Commercial Officer of Genius Sports Group, the parent company of Betgenius, said: “By leveraging Betgenius’ expertise in sportsbook management and breadth of high quality content, Pearl River Resorts has established a premium sports betting offering.
“The legalisation of sports betting presents tribal casinos with a major opportunity to diversify their revenue streams and take a leading role in the fast-moving, tech-driven sector of sports betting. Through this partnership, we are extremely proud to play a role in enabling the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to be the first tribal casino to do just that.”
Enrico Drago, Senior Vice President PlayDigital at IGT, said: “IGT’s collaboration with Betgenius resulted in a history-making sports betting solution for Pearl River Resorts. Betgenius’ odds making and risk management expertise and technology were the ideal complements to IGT’s market-ready PlayShot sports betting platform and our position as the leading end-to-end gaming supplier.”
U.S. Sports Betting Organisations Behind Formation Of New Integrity Non-Profit
SWIMA to dive in at the deep end
U.S. sportsbook operators on Tuesday announced the formation of a new national non-profit organisation to help monitor integrity and fight fraud as the country’s new sports wagering market expands.
Titled Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association (SWIMA), the new body will partner with state and tribal gaming regulators, law enforcement and other stakeholders, according to a report from the Reuters news agency.
The report notes that SWIMA It is the first such group in the United States and has been formed with the goal of ensuring “…a safe and secure betting environment for consumers across the country,”
The orgnaisation has appointed George Rover, a former New Jersey assistant attorney general and gaming regulator, as SWIMA Chief Integrity Officer.
In a statement Tuesday Rover said the body is taking shape as more and more states are legalising, regulating and taxing sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court in May overturned the restrictive federal PASPA legislation.
Sportsbooks, leagues and regulators already do their own fraud monitoring, looking for odd betting patterns, abnormalities, insider activity and other suspicious data, he noted.
SWIMA will let member sportsbook operators from any state submit information about suspicious wagers to a central hub and alert regulators in many states, not just their own.
“The key is to ensure that sportsbook operators are able to connect,” Rover told Reuters, saying that the organisation expects to be operational within the next ninety days.
Rover revealed that SWIMA received advice and assistance, and is modelled on, the European integrity group ESSA, and that SWIMA will share information to identify potential fraud with that body.
SWIMA’s board of trustees includes Stephen Martino, MGM Resorts International’s chief compliance officer and a former state regulator in Maryland and Kansas, and former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones, now Caesars Entertainment Corp’s executive vice president of public policy and corporate responsibility.
So far, member operators, or companies with affiliated licensees, include MGM, Caesars, William Hill PLC, DraftKings and FanDuel Sports Betting Group, a unit of Paddy Power Betfair PLC .Also involved are 888 Holdings PLC, Bet365 Group Ltd., Golden Nugget Inc., Hard Rock International, Resorts Casino Hotel and Tropicana Atlantic City.
Sportsbook operators will fund the group, which will work with risk management experts and gaming regulators to identify suspicious activity and alert members.
Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association, characterised SWIMA as “an important milestone” that shows “the industry’s commitment to upholding integrity across all facets of a legal, regulated sports betting market.”
MGM Resorts Becomes Major League Baseball’S First ‘Official Gaming Sponsor’
“All-inclusive partnership agreement,” the league’s first such deal since the US Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting prohibition
MGM Resorts International has been chosen by Major League Baseball as its first “official gaming sponsor” and “official entertainment partner,” according to a press release issued Tuesday.
The “all-inclusive partnership agreement,” is the league’s first such deal since the US Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting prohibition in May this year (see previous InfoPowa reports).
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the ‘multi-year’ deal will allow MGM to strike deals with individual teams and to promote its activities on the MLB Network, the MLB.com website and the MLB At Bat mobile app. The agreement also gives MGM access to proprietary league data for betting purposes
MGM will have the right to use MLB trademarks for marketing purposes and will have a marketing presence at marquee MLB events such as the All-Star Game and the World Series.
The gambling giant has previously inked similar agreements with the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.
These major deals clinched with US sports leagues will benefit MGM’s US joint venture partner GVC Holdings, a UK land and online betting group.
NBA Signs Betting Data Deal With Genius Sports And Sportradar
New specialist partnerships will provide robust and reliable data to fans
The U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) has signed its first betting data deal with Sportradar and Genius Sports.
Beginning this NBA season, Sportradar and Genius Sports have gained the non-exclusive right to distribute official NBA betting data to licensed sports betting operators in the U.S.
Genius Sports and Sportradar said they will work closely with the NBA to ensure those who choose to bet on sports legally have access to official NBA betting data through licensed gaming operators in their respective states where gambling is legal.
This includes official betting data for all NBA and WNBA games, including the preseason, regular season and playoffs.
Along with official NBA betting data, each company is also authorised to distribute betting data products on a real-time basis.
“We are excited to continue working with the NBA on this multi-faceted partnership that now also covers the U.S. We have invested in this partnership as it is not only a tremendous opportunity for us, but ultimately for the fans of the NBA,” Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of Sportradar, commented. “With sports betting being so new to the United States, we will look to utilize our vast global experience in the space to implement innovative feeds and products to give fans and partners an amazing experience.”
“We are pleased that the NBA has chosen Genius Sports as an official data partner in the US. We look forward to using NBA data to provide licensed US sports books with our suite of market leading in-game basketball betting products and services,” Mark Locke, Chief Executive Officer of Genius Sports said. “We are world renowned for driving innovation in basketball sports betting and look forward to inspiring a more engaging betting experience for NBA fans.”
“Sportradar and Genius Sports are proven leaders in data distribution and will deliver unparalleled, real-time official NBA betting data,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver concluded. “As the sports betting landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, these new partnerships will provide robust and reliable data to ensure the best possible gaming experience for our fans in the U.S.”