Weekly News – 02/10/2021

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

8 minute read

THIS WEEK IN LEGAL SPORTS BETTING - TEXAS SPORTS BETTING AND MISSISSIPPI ONLINE SPORTS BETTING STALLED

February 10th, 2021 Weekly Report

Now that the Super Bowl has passed, it’s time to look into what happened this week in legal sports betting. Many states ramped up their efforts to legalize sports betting prior to the major sporting event. And, we may soon be seeing the fruits of those efforts paying off in multiple states!

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 PointBet promo code for example!

CONTENTS

• Texas taking a Step Back
• Wynn looking to Expand
• Mississippi Major Setback
• Iowa sees Gains
• Arizona Picking Up
• Final Thoughts

TEXAS STEPS A STEP AWAY FROM LEGAL TEXAS SPORTS BETTING

A few days ago, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick dampened sports bettors’ hopes in the state. Lieutenant Governor Patrick last week indicated that sports betting was unlikely to come before the Texas legislature this season. He went on to reiterate his opposition to the idea of legal sports betting in the state.

Patrick has never been a fan of the idea of Texas sports betting. He feels that the revenue earned through sports betting legalization in the state is not sufficient to justify it. In addition, sports betting legalization in Texas would require an amendment to its constitution.

And, it does not appear to have enough support in the Texas legislature to be able to move forward with that process. At this time, a Texas sports betting bill does not even have a sponsor in the state. In addition, legalization in the state also has the barrier of religious groups who oppose it as well as opposition from gaming tribes in Oklahoma.

However, two bills looking to legalize forms of gambling have been filed in the state legislature this year. One bill was filed by state Representative Harold Dutton but has not see any traction. Another, filed by state Senator Roland Gutierrez has been filed with the hopes of amending the Texas constitution to legalize casinos. This bill was filed days ago.

Because of the lack of support from major lawmakers in the state overall, legal gambling in Texas does not seem forthcoming. But, if the support can be drummed up, Texans may see legal gambling in the next few years.

WYNNBET IS LOOKING TO EXPAND

WynnBET, the online sportsbook from Wynn Resorts is looking to open in more markets this year. Even though the sports betting operator can be seen as a late entry to the sports betting marketplace, the company has seen great gains.

In addition, Wynn Resorts also acquired the company BetBull back in the Fall of 2020. So, the operator is looking to find new markets for their ventures.The company already expanded into Colorado, Michigan, and New Jersey.

Now, WynnBet is setting its sights on the markets in Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, as well as Tennessee. Wynn Resorts hopes to make the expansion into new territories before the NFL season kicks off again towards the end of the year. So, keep an eye out for any news about WynnBET expanding into your state.

MISSISSIPPI ONLINE SPORTS BETTING NOT COMING ANY TIME SOON

This past week, an astounding three bills looking to legalize Mississippi online sports betting through mobile operators were killed. Though Mississippi was at the forefront of legal sports betting back in 2018, the state only allows for sports betting at retail sportsbooks at this time. Over the years, online sports betting expansion bills have failed in the state’s legislature.

As of this writing, mobile sports betting is legally allowed as long as one is on casino property in the state. However, there are not any commercial casinos that use the Mississippi mobile ability in their casinos.

One bill would have allowed for casino operators to have their own online sportsbooks. An additional two bills would have expanded on the current legislation by allowing online betting across the state. Mississippi has seen great revenue gains come in from the legalization of Mississippi sports betting.

The state of Mississippi will need to move fast to keep up with the online sports betting expansion in neighboring states. Tennessee was able to launch its own mobile betting initiative late last year. And, both Alabama and Florida have been named as states to watch when it comes to sports betting.

In addition, neighbor state Arkansas allows for retail betting in the state. And, voters in Louisiana voiced their support for Louisiana sports betting when the motion passed at the ballot box in November 2020.

IOWA SPORTS BETTING MARKET SEES GAINS

The state of Iowa ended the in-person sports betting registration requirement in the state last month. And now, the state has seen subsequent gains in sports betting over this past month. A new state record in Iowa sports betting was earned in Iowa last month. And, the state also saw a record set in sports betting revenue.

This uptick in sports betting comes as no surprise to those who watched the sports betting marketplace in Rhode Island over the summer. The state of Rhode Island saw similar gains after allowing interested sports bettors to register remotely.

ARIZONA SPORTS BETTING COULD BE GAINING TRACTION

Over the years, Arizona sports betting has failed to gain enough support to pass in the state’s legislature. However, interested sports bettors in the state should be interested to hear in some new developments.

In his State of the State address recently, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey voiced that he wants legal Arizona sports betting in the state. Plus, Governor Ducey has renegotiated with the gaming tribes of Arizona as the current deals would expire next year. This renegotiation has allowed for an additional expansion of gaming in the state with Keno.

There are two bills presented to the Arizona state legislature that could legalize sports betting. These bills are HB 2772 as well as SB 1797. These bills would also legalize keno as well as daily fantasy sports in the state of Arizona. The bills have both already been read twice in the state legislature.

Both of the bills are set to get a committee hearing in the next few days. However, the renegotiated compacts with the Arizona tribes would need to be both signed as well as approved at the federal level before becoming legal.

The bills refer to event wagering when it comes to Arizona sports betting. They would allow for sports betting in the state to be operated by gaming tribes on their own land. And, it would allow for professional sports teams to operate sports betting as well as NASCAR, plus the PGA Tour.

The legislations would allow for twenty licenses for sports betting operation to be given in the state. Half of these licenses would be for professional sports operators. And, the other half would be for tribal operators in the state of Arizona. However, there are currently sixteen tribes in Arizona that operate twenty four casinos currently in operation in the state.

In addition, there are not even ten professional sports operators that would be able to meet the qualifications of an event wagering operator. Event wagering operators would be able to be licensed for up to five years. Sportsbook operators would be able to be licensed for up to two years.

At this point, the fees as well as the tax rates for the state of Arizona were not outlined in the proposed bills. However, both esports as well as Olympic events were covered in the sports betting legislations.

In a differing move from other states, Arizonians would be allowed to place bets on in-state college sports events. However, prop bets on college sports events would not be allowed. College sports betting in general would be allowed in the bills.

CONCLUSION

So, we have seen some states take a step back from sports betting legislation. However, these steps do give sports betting supporters more information to work with when it comes to the uphill battle in their respective states. The more information state legislatures have, the more likely they will be able to come to a compromise.

When states begin to look into sports betting legalization, that often spurs neighboring states to do the same. The healthy competition for sports betting revenue has been a big push towards legalization in many markets. Keep coming back for the latest sports betting news every week!

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