Welcome to the “Weekly Legal Sports Betting Recap,” where on Fridays we’ll whip around the United States and review the most important developments in a ever-growing number of states to legalize sports betting, covering the legislative and industry side of things, with a focus on what matters for us, the sports bettors.
Within a completely unique year in the world of legal U.S. sports betting, this week rivaled them all for sheer volume of news and potential impact. Let’s summarize it all succinctly before everyone heads out to a holiday party:
(1) In Washington D.C. on Tuesday, the D.C. Council passed a bill legalizing sports betting and the full story is here. Assuming the bill gets the mayor’s signature and Congress doesn’t decide to blow it up, it’s happening. Only problem is that consumers will have just one mobile sportsbook to use, and the powers that be are looking to squeeze every cent possible from consumers. Good news, bad news situation.
(2) Also in Washington, D.C.: Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday submitted a bill dubbed the “Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018.” Why and why now? Hatch, one of the architects of the now-void federal ban on sports betting, is retiring at the end of his term ending January 3. He called the bill a “placeholder for the next Congress, should they decide to continue working to address the issue.” The bill, even if passed, won’t eradicate sports betting, but it may slow the rollout in numerous states and could have numerous other unintended consequences. Stay tuned.
(3) There have been rumblings that the United States Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel would issue an opinion his week or in the near future, re-interpreting the 1961 Federal Wire Act. In 2011 under the Obama administration, the DOJ proffered that the Wire Act basically only applied to sports betting. This one is totally up in the air and it’s just an “opinion” or interpretation of an old law that does need to be updated… but certainly has rattled anyone invested in poker or iGaming.
ICYMI at RotoGrinders Sports Betting:
$2M DraftKings Fantasy Football World Championship Winner Pledged Half to Charity
Betting On Themselves: More College Football Players Skipping Bowl Games
DraftKings Sportsbook To Offer Online Wagering In West Virginia
More of Most Important, Interesting Stories of the Week:
THE SLATE: Weekly NFL Betting Breakdown [SharpSide]
CONGRATS, GUYS: U.S. sports bettors dubbed ‘most influential’ people in sports business in 2018 [SBJ]
SPORTS BETTING NEXT: Michigan Senate passes online casino bill [MI Bets]
MIXED-MARTIAL PARTNERS: Is The UFC, PokerStars Poker Partnership A Prelude For Sports Betting? [US Bets]
AND YOU GET A DEAL: NBA, FanDuel expand partnership to include sports betting [Chalk]
THE SCORE: theScore set to launch NJ sportsbook with Monmouth Park [Sports Handle]
TENNESSEE: Two county commissioners want to bring sports betting to Memphis’ famous strip. [Fox13]
Have a great weekend, folks. Lend a follow to our brand new Twitter account.