Weekly News – 02/02/2021

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

6 minute read

THIS WEEK IN LEGAL SPORTS BETTING - VIRGINIA SPORTS BETTING MAKES MOVES!

February 2nd, 2021 Weekly Report

As the Super Bowl approaches in the next few days, you best believe there’s sports betting news! So, which sports betting brands are trying to launch in new states before the big game? Keep reading to learn all about those brands and more in this week’s sports betting round up!

If you want to find our more on some major topics not covered in this article you can check out the rest of VegasInsider with our exclusive bet365 bonus code or BetMGM bonus code for example!

CONTENTS

• Launch of Virginia Sports Betting
• New Tennessee Sportsbooks
• Sports Betting Traction in the NorthEast
• Final Thoughts

VIRGINIA SPORTS BETTING IS SLOWLY LAUNCHING

Fans of sports betting in the state of Virginia were excited to see legal sports betting launch in the state on January 21st, 2021. But, the rollout of Virginia sports betting has been fairly slow as only four operators are live as of this writing. The four sports betting operators that are online in Virginia right now are BetMGM, BetRivers, FanDuel Sportsbook, as well as the DraftKings Sportsbook.

BetMGM currently holds an untethered mobile license in the state of Virginia. Meanwhile BetRivers was able to launch under the umbrella of Rush Street’s forthcoming casino license.

Now that the Caesars brand in Virginia has received its sports betting permit a few days ago in the state, we know a bit more. It can be assumed that William Hill will be launching sports betting in the state any day now. But, after that, it is anyone’s guess which sports betting operator will launch next in the state of Virginia.

The FanDuel Sportsbook was the first online sports betting site to accept a legal sports bet in the state. However, the daily fantasy sports brand turned online sportsbook was soon joined by rival DraftKings a few days later. In total, twenty five companies have applied for licenses to operate sports betting in the state of Virginia.

FanDuel was able to partner with the Washington Football Team. So, this helped the company get preferential treatment when it came to the approval process for VA sports betting due to a favorable clause in a state law.

But, the Virginia Lottery has been very tight lipped about the whole process. And, this is considering the fact that the Virginia Lottery has had ninety days to consider the applications that were required to be submitted at the end of October.

The first weekend for legal sports betting in Virginia was quite lucrative for the state. Virginia, together with the state of Michigan, accounted for around a quarter of the over thirty million transactions that were tracked in the seventeen legal sports betting jurisdictions in the United States.

NEW TENNESSEE SPORTS BETTING OPERATORS LAUNCH

Just a few days ago, the Tennessee Education Lottery special meeting gave their approval to William Hill Sportsbook as well as WynnBET Sportsbook to launch in Tennessee. However, unfortunately neither operator would be able to launch before this coming weekend’s Super Bowl. Both William Hill and WynnBet need to fulfill further requirements before they can fully launch in the state.

In addition, Tennessee Sports Betting is also looking towards a launch for TwinSpire from operator Churchill Downs. As of this writing, the state of Tennessee has four sportsbooks that are currently in operation. These sportsbooks are BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Action 24/7. Also, ZenSports is another operator that has to contend with a pending Tennessee license.

Tennessee has seen a great launch for sports betting in the state. Part of that success has been due to bets on the Tennessee Titans. And, Tennessee has also seen a boon from out of state visitors who travel there to place their bets. There are eight states that border Tennessee, but back in December, not a single one of them offered mobile sports betting. Though, that has changed this year.

SPORTS BETTING IN THE NORTHEAST SEES TRACTION

As of this writing, Massachusetts, Connecticut, AND New York are all looking to legalize sports betting in some form. However, the state of New York has made some confusing moves.

The road to sports betting in Connecticut can get complicated because years ago, gaming exclusivity had been granted to the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes. However, it does appear that there is a compromise to be struck in the future between all sides. So, Connecticut sports betting will most likely be coming in the next few months.

For instance, the legislation SB 146 would allow the tribes to operate Connecticut sports betting at their casinos as well as online. And, the Connecticut Lottery would also be able to expand into online sales for keno as well as the lottery. Currently, SB 146 has seventeen sponsors from both chambers. However, it is not the only Connecticut sports betting bill on the docket.

State Senator Dennis Bradley has filed SB 570. This bill would legalize sports betting, iLottery, iGaming, as well as tribal casinos in Bridgeport. Legislators in the state of Connecticut know they have to work fast to legalize sports betting in the state.

As of right now, interested bettors are able to travel to Rhode Island to place their sports bets. And, with both New York state and the state of Massachusetts eyeing sports betting legalization, Connecticut needs to keep up.

State Senator Brendan Crighton has long been a champion for the legalization of Massachusetts sports betting. State Senator Crighton has rewritten his 2020 legislation attempt to include higher upfront fees. His hope is that these fees would be able to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the state, making the legislation more appealing.

As of right now, in the state of New York, sports betting is technically legal. However, legal sports betting in the state can only take place through retail casinos. And, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has thrown his support behind the idea to only open the sports betting market to one mobile operator in the state.

CONCLUSION

As you can see, many states are looking towards legalizing sports betting as a way to bring in extra revenue. Many of these states had not been supportive of the idea of legal sports betting until this year. But, the sports betting market in states that have legalized the practice speaks for itself.

Now that we are approaching one of the biggest sporting events of the year, we can see more states ramping up their legalization efforts. So, we may see even more states presenting legislation for legal sports betting after the Super Bowl. Keep coming back each week to see the latest legal sports betting news!

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise.

Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman