Las Vegas studio to be hub for creation and promotion of PokerStars’ live-streaming content.
Jason Somerville, undisputed king of Twitch poker streaming and owner of Run It Up Studios, has extended his partnership with online poker giant PokerStars.
The studio in Las Vegas is a full-purpose Twitch production studio, creating content for Somerville’s own Run It Up streams as well as producing content for third parties, from live events to small independent streamers.
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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has begun publishing responses to its proposed sports betting regulations.
The group drafted the preliminary framework last month, and stakeholders took full advantage of the window for public comment on PA sports betting.
We covered the response from sports leagues and teams at length yesterday, so read that first if you haven’t already. It’s worth the time. Each of the four professional leagues has franchises that call PA home, so their words, while controversial, carry some weight.
Today, we’ll delve into the response from another key PA resident: Penn National Gaming.
No other company is as invested in the PA gambling industry as Penn National Gaming is.
The group owns both Hollywood Casino outside of Harrisburg and Meadows Casino near Pittsburgh, making it the only operator with two PA casinos. Call it four, actually. Penn is also the only operator that purchased two of the new mini-casino licenses at auction.
The group has been expanding outside of the Commonwealth, too, maneuvering into markets with an appetite for both sports betting and online gambling. Count Tropicana Atlantic City among its recent purchases, for example, giving it an entry point into neighboring New Jersey.
PNG was one of several operators that took the PGCB up on its offer for public comment on PA sports betting.
The law itself spells out of much of the framework, including the blueprint for taxes and fees. Regulators are only seeking comment on what they can control. That didn’t stop Penn from leading with an airing of its grievances:
While the existing sports wagering licensing fee and tax rate are outside the PGCB’s purview, PNG first notes that the $10 million license fee and 36% tax rate established in the Gaming Expansion Legislation are the highest in the world and may make it impossible for a casino operator to make any return on its investment of capital.
Citing the mechanics of the sports betting economy, Penn estimates that “it could lose approximately 40 cents on every $100 wagered on sporting events.” The group essentially implores the legislature, via the PGCB, to look to New Jersey and West Virginia for better models.
This will allow for the Commonwealth’s gaming operators to effectively compete with bordering jurisdictions and, importantly, the unregulated and untaxed illegal sports betting market…
These sentiments are echoed in comments from another PA gaming group, as well as a surprise letter from the NFL.
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Visit PA iLotteryWith the complaints out of the way, Penn digs into some of the details over which it might actually have some influence.
By the way… Penn’s ever-growing portfolio also includes a pair of properties in Las Vegas, both of which offer sports betting. The letter covers ways in which the group hopes to leverage that expertise and infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
Penn asks regulators to grant preliminary approval to any platform that has already been tested and approved for NV sports betting. The same goes for staff. Penn would like to see its NV employees and vendors immediately granted temporary licenses in PA. It also hopes to use its NV risk management partner, “as is the practice for Delaware, New Jersey, and The Bahamas.”
Penn also asks for removal of the provision requiring servers to be located in PA, as well as the one requiring in-person registration.
Provided these conditions are met, PNG says it’ll be ready to take wagers by the start of the NFL season. That’d be on or before Sept. 6, if you’re wondering.
The letter urges regulators to meet that timeline, too.
One very noteworthy request centers around the branding and partnerships permitted for online and mobile platforms — skins, as they’re called.
From the letter:
PNG is opposed to the issuance of any “skins” that would allow for new “white label” online/mobile sports wagering operations by third parties in Pennsylvania which ultiize brands that are currently not in use in the state (for example, DraftKings or Fan Duel).
Shots fired! Sorry to interrupt, but the brands of the two daily fantasy sports leaders are currently in use in the state. The PGCB regulates DFS, and DraftKings and FanDuel have served the state for years.
Continue, Penn National:
The failure to prohibit “skins” with respect to online/mobile sports wagering would present significant new competition to the incumbent casino operators and result in overall saturation of the marketplace, as is occurring in the online gaming marketplace in New Jersey.
Hold on again, sorry. Since when is competition a bad thing in a free market? And another thing, citing New Jersey’s model as one to avoid is misguided at best. NJ online gambling is thriving, bolstering Atlantic City casino revenue with near-monthly records. Bad example, Penn.
This request is entirely self-serving, but you can’t really blame them for asking.
Of all the things Penn wants, limiting skins could arguably provide the largest advantage. It intends to use its established Hollywood brand online, and it would rather not face competition from DraftKings and its marketing team. DraftKings Sportsbooks billboards are already up alongside New Jersey highways.
The post Penn National Takes Aim At DFS Sites In PGCB Letter appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.
Sports betting legislation continues to dominate headlines as states work feverishly to pass bills before legislative sessions break for the summer or end for the year.
Some states, like Michigan, have not been successful in their quest to legalize sports betting. Others, like New Jersey, and now Rhode Island have.
On the heels of New Jersey accepting its first sports bets last week, Rhode Island becomes the latest state to send a sports betting bill to the governor’s desk.
On Wednesday, the House voted 66-7 for a $9.6 billion budget plan that includes regulating sports betting. The Senate then voted 34-2 to do the same.
All that’s left is the signature of Gov. Gina Raimondo to bring legalized sports betting to the Ocean State. Raimondo is the original author of the bill. Even though there were amendments along the way, expect her signature soon.
Sports betting will fall under the watch of the Rhode Island Lottery.
IGT is expected to provide the platform for sports betting in the state. It has been Rhode Island’s land-based and online lottery platform provider for the past 15 years. IGT also happened to be the sole bidder for the sports betting contract
The bill only legalizes land-based sports betting. The Twin River casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton will serve as “host communities for sports wagering” and receive $100,000 each for the administrative duties.
Partnerships with IGT and the Twin River casinos are not official yet. Formal agreements must wait until the bill becomes law.
The targeted launch date for the first sports wager is Oct. 1. The state is predicting first-year revenue projections of $23.5 million. That would require casinos to accept around $900 million in wagers.
The state will collect 51 percent of the revenue with the remaining shared between the vendor (32 percent) and the casino (17 percent).
Legal Sports Report provided a thorough analysis of the Rhode Island sports betting bill and its revenue projections.
The basic gist of the reporting is the revenue projection is “optimistic.”
It seems unlikely the state will bring in $900 million in wagers without mobile sports betting or betting outside of Lincoln and Tiverton.
Basically, the figure of $900 million represents about 20 percent of Nevada‘s annual handle. Think about that.
Nevada has three-times the population and a mature sports-betting market that has had a monopoly on sports betting until recent weeks.
Brenna McCabe, a spokesperson for the Administration, told the Providence Journal the state’s Office of Management and Budget produced the estimate. McCabe also mentioned there was no guidance from the state’s consultant, Spectrum Gaming Group recognized for its expertise in the economics of legalized gambling.
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Visit Golden NuggetThe U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) opened the door to legalized sports betting across the U.S. As expected, several states are anxious to capitalize on the revenue possibility it will gain from sports betting.
To date, two states joined Nevada in offering sports betting:
Rhode Island will join that list shortly.
Technically, New York has legalized sports betting. A 2013 law may allow limited sports betting. However, it is unclear how it will be implemented.
A comprehensive sports betting bill will have to wait until the 2019 legislative session. On the same day that Rhode Island passed its sports betting law, the New York legislature closed its session without passing one of its own.
Three other states have pending sports betting regulations and expect to accept sports wagers soon:
More states are likely to take up the topic of sports betting come fall when state legislatures re-open for business.
The post While Rhode Island OKs Sports Betting, NY Misses The Boat appeared first on Play USA.
On Wednesday night the New York Assembly threw in the towel on the 2018 legislative session. Online poker and sports betting are among the items left untouched.
The post New York Online Poker Is Officially Dead Until 2019 appeared first on Online Poker Report.
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Last October, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a gambling expansion law to legalize online poker, online casino games, daily fantasy sports and sports betting.
It was the first step into a new era in PA online gambling. Anticipation built even more last month, when the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) to clear the way for regulated sports betting.
Yet a rosy revenue outlook does not seem to be prevalent now for Pennsylvania’s higher-ups. Details from a closed-door election-year budget plan among Republican lawmakers paint a less enthusiastic picture.
First thing’s first. Gov. Tom Wolf is bidding for re-election in November. This could explain why this usually-contentious process is more docile. That said, it appears the state’s top politicians are on the same page on many topics.
Among them is a slightly conservative expectation of revenue generated by Pennsylvania’s expanded line of games. Most of these, including sports betting and online gambling, have not launched yet.
A report from the closed-door meeting indicates that the planned state budget includes a hoped-for $100 million from sports betting and online gambling over the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. In a statement, Wolf called it a “responsible and bipartisan” plan. He added:
“We have worked cooperatively over the past few months to find common ground and room for compromise. This budget makes smart investments in education, safety and human services and continues the progress we’ve made to restore fiscal stability to the commonwealth’s finances.”
The ante for entering a hand is steep as it is. As such, enough interest would create quite the kitty.
Full online casino licenses, which lets holders offer table games, slots, and poker, cost $10 million apiece. Licenses to offer only one of the three games would cost $4 million a pop. And sports betting licenses cost $10 million each.
There are 13 full online casino and sports betting licenses available. That amounts to one for each of the state’s active casinos and one for the planned casino in Philadelphia.
If all of the licenses sold out, that adds up to more than $250 million alone. The problem, however, is that many casino operators perceive the price tag to be too steep. So far PGCB has not issued any licenses have been issued. In the case of online gambling licenses, there are not even any applicants.
Even during the final weekend of May – two weeks after SCOTUS struck down PASPA to open the door for regulated sports betting – there was no interest in obtaining sports betting licenses.
According to Online Poker Report, it is unclear if those responsible for creating the budget are omitting some revenue that was planned from licensing in the 2017-18 fiscal year, even if their expectations, including $200 million from online gambling alone, went unmet.
Regardless, the federal sports betting ban was still on the books before New Jersey won its SCOTUS case. As such, sports betting licenses would first be included in the budget during the next go-round. Should all of those licenses sell, that would generate $130 million in revenue alone.
Pennsylvania has moved forward with its online lottery, which certainly will provide a revenue boost for the state. Yet a somewhat conservative outlook remains for the likes of online gambling and sports betting.
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Visit PA iLotteryThe post PA Budget Only Expects $100 Million From Gambling Expansion appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.