Betting News – Page 44

June 6, 2024

Is online sports betting really taking a bite out of lottery sales?

Lottery Geeks' Bill Dettloff explores whether or not online sports betting is really to blame for declining lottery sales in some states.

Lottery commissions throughout the US are bracing for what they assume will be an attack on their bottom lines. They fear that the exploding popularity of online sports gambling will hurt their businesses. Are their fears justified? Or is there something else at play?

Leading the call for action is Massachusetts Lottery Director Mark William Bracken. For the second year in a row, Bracken used a March lottery commissioners’ meeting to sound the alarm against maintaining the status quo in the face of increasing online sports gambling. He pointed to the 6.8% reduction in lottery sales his state recorded from February 2023 to February 2024. He also noted the lottery’s year-to-date net profit was $28.4m (£20.6m/€24.2m) less than during the same period last year.

But is Bracken’s logic sound? Is online sports betting cutting into lottery sales?

A..

June 5, 2024

Episode 30: Minnesota, DC, Delaware and Illinois

In the latest episode of the World Series of Politics, Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden navigate the latest updates from Minnesota, Washington DC, Delaware and Illinois.

The World Series of Politics is back after some technical hitches and we’ve got a lot to catch up on.

We begin in Minnesota. Hopes were high for the state to legalise sports betting before the close of the legislative session, but it inevitably ended without sports betting being considered. Minnesota had been one of four US states that stakeholders thought might pass sports betting legislation, alongside Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. None of them did.

A number of elements factored into Minnesota falling at the final hurdle, Bussmann highlights, one being the arrest of state senator Nicole Mitchell for burglary.

“In the end, one of the downfalls off of this was just, you had, you know, a bunch of people, some are some Ds that just didn’t want to get along at the end,” he says. And although a result was achieved in ..

June 5, 2024

ANJ urges RG caution in France ahead of potential €1bn in Euro 2024 bets

L'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the regulator of gambling in France, has launched a new problem gambling prevention campaign ahead of Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 gets under way in Germany on 14 June and the ANJ says close to €1bn (£851.4m/$1.1bn) could be staked in France on the tournament. The ANJ did note the stake amounts will depend on how France, among the favourites to lift the trophy, fare in the competition.

The €1bn figure would surpass the 2022 World Cup’s stakes total of €900m, when France reached the final. The last European Championships, held in 2021, generated €700m in bets.

However, amid the expected increase in betting activity, the ANJ is urging players – particularly younger people – to take notice of legal notices featured on gambling advertising.

The ANJ’s new prevention campaign aims to raise awareness of betting addiction and the resulting problems. The messages highlight a “deliberately disproportionate” section on addiction risks in yellow to tell the “r..

June 5, 2024

Analyst warns Illinois betting tax hike could trigger similar moves in other states

The decision by lawmakers in Illinois to push ahead with an increase in sports betting tax could push other states across the US to take similar action, an analyst from consultancy B Global has warned.

Last week, the Illinois house of representatives passed a progressive wagering tax rate. This will see the state’s most prolific sports betting operators pay tax at 40%, a sharp rise from the current rate of 15%.

The new-look structure sets rates at between 20% and 40%, depending on each operator’s adjusted gaming revenue (AGR). Operators posting more than $200m (£157m/€184m) face the highest rate of 40% – the second-highest tax rate in the US behind New York at 51%.

Other boundaries include a 20% tax rate for operators with an AGR of under $30m, 25% for between 30m and $50m, 30% for AGR ranging from $50m to $100m and 35% for AGR of $100m to $200m.

The proposal, which forms part of the FY2025 budget in Illinois, is now with Illinois’ governor, JB Pritzker, for sign-off. Should Pritzk..

June 5, 2024

Leaving on a jet plane? Man tied to Porter betting scheme busted at JFK

Banned NBA player Jontay Porter intentionally removed himself from games as a way to pay back “large gambling debts” according to a complaint filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. One of Porter's “co-conspirators” was arrested on Monday (3 June) and appeared in court the following day.

Long Phi Pham, also known as “Bruce,” was ordered held in custody until trial, according to a US Attorney’s Office press release. Per the NY Daily News, Pham was identified as one of the top 1% of poker players in the world at his arraignment on Tuesday.

He was arrested at JFK Airport on Monday after booking a one-way ticket to Australia. Pham is being charged with wire fraud. Pham was carrying about $92,000 in cash and cashier’s cheques, three cell phones and betting slips, according to the complaint.

Three more participants at large

Three other co-conspirators have not yet been arrested. Porter is not named in the complaint, although there is reference to a “Playe..

June 5, 2024

Major League Baseball bans Padres’ Marcano for life, suspends four others

On Tuesday (4 June) Major League Baseball became the latest US professional sports league to ban players for violating gambling rules in the post-PASPA era. San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned for life after it was revealed that he had bet on his own team.

Four other players, including Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, were suspended for up to a year, according to MLB.com. Prior to Tuesday, every other major professional sports league had banned at least one player. Marcano becomes the second player in a US pro league to be handed a lifetime ban this year. On 17 April, the NBA banned Jontay Porter for life after it was discovered that he had bet on the NBA and had shared personal health information with another bettor.

Last year, the NFL suspended 10 players for up to a year for various violations of league gambling rules. All have since been reinstated. The NHL suspended Shane Pinto for violating league rules last October. In addition, the PGA Tour last O..

June 4, 2024

Mizuhara pleads guilty to stealing $17m from Ohtani to pay gambling debt

On Tuesday (4 June) morning, former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara pled guilty to two federal counts of stealing $17m from Ohtani. Mizuhara fell hard and fast into gambling debt with an illegal bookmaker. His sentencing is set for 25 October.

Mizuhara, wearing a dark suit with an untucked shirt and no tie, told Judge John A Holcomb: “I worked for Victim A and had access to his accounts. I had fallen into major gambling debt. The only way I could think of to pay that was to send money from Victim A’s account” to the illegal bookmaker.

Mizuhara then pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a fraudulent tax return. The maximum penalty for the charges is 33 years in prison and a $1.5m fine. Tuesday’s proceedings took place at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Court House in Santa Ana, California. Previous court appearances were at the Roybal federal complex in downtown Los Angeles.

From here, the court and US Probation Office will put toge..

June 4, 2024

Spain online gambling revenue rises to €350.7m in Q1

Gross online gambling revenue in Spain amounted to €350.7m (£298.6m/$381.6m) during Q1, a 15.1% increase from the opening quarter of last year and 11.2% ahead of Q4.

The Q1 total was comfortably ahead of €313.3m in the same period last year. It is also more than the €315.3m generated in Spain in the final quarter of 2023.

Casino remains the primary source of revenue, generating €167.8m in Q1, or 47.8% of all market revenue. The quarterly total was 17.0% higher than last year but 2.1% behind Q4.

Year-on-year casino growth was helped by a 15.0% rise in slots revenue and 22.2% rise in roulette revenue. Growth was also reported across blackjack and roulette.

Elsewhere, sports betting revenue amounted to €150.3m, representing 42.9% of overall revenue for the quarter. This is 15.4% higher than Q1 last year and also 31.0% ahead of Q4.

Within this market, pre-match betting activity rocketed by 588.8% year-on-year but in-play bets were down 31.7%. Other bet types edged up 1.6% while horse ..

June 4, 2024

MLB investigating Padres player, four minor leaguers for betting on baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) has opened an investigation into five players thought to have bet on baseball while playing in the league, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (3 June). The players face a lifetime ban if the accusations are true.

MLB – and all of the US professional sports leagues – prohibit players from betting on their own sport. MLB players who bet on their own teams face a lifetime suspension. The penalty for betting on other teams is up to one year.

San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was named by the WSJ, which also reported four minor leaguers are under investigation. It’s not clear if the players were betting legally or illegally. Marcano is being investigated for betting on baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was on injured reserve last season.

US professional sports have been under a microscope with regard to gambling of late. Former NBA player Jontay Porter was banned from the league for life on 17 April after violating league gambling ru..