Casino Cabbie: Letter From America 6
More gems and insight from our favourite US partner Casino Cabbie this week, with their latest newsletter.
Breaking Bad.
US commercial gaming revenue hit a new quarterly record, of US$16.60 billion, for Q1 2023.
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), this was the eighth consecutive record-breaking quarter.
Highlight was March, with total revenue of US$5.90 billion.
Meanwhile in New Jersey gambling revenue was up 9.5 percent in April, year-on-year, with Pennsylvania also seeing a 3.3 percent increase in the month, compared to 2022.
Massachusetts March Madness
In the first ever legal month of online sports betting in the Bay State, punters wagered an amazing US$566.2 million.
The usual suspects–DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM–came in leading the pack; trailed by Caesars, Barstool and WynnBet.
Bragging Rights
Speaking of Wynnbet, their New Jersey casino is now offering a full gamut of games from Bragg Studios (and partners), such as Atomic Slot Lab and Spin Games.
“[This deal] highlights the continued successful introduction of our proprietary and third-party content with leading North American iGaming operators,” affirmed Bragg Gaming Group COO Kunal Mishra.
PGCB Gets Tough
In a case that sends shudders through responsible parents everywhere, the Pennsylvania Gaming and Control Board (PGCB) has issued state-wide casino bans on five adults who left their young children unattended in vehicles while they gambled.
The Board has also fined Hollywood Casino US$78,000 for failing to meet the minimum levels of security staffing on their premises and sanctioned TCS John Huxley America US$22,000 for breaching licensing laws.
California Hold
Cheered on by current monopolists, Cali Card Rooms and native American tribal gaming groups, The Golden State last month extended its moratorium on card room extensions until 2043, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed house bill AB 341.
Current licensed operators were further cheered by the news that they–and only they– will be allowed to apply for approval to open card rooms that operate under 20 tables in new cities. If successful, they will be able to add two new tables in the first year and an additional two tables every four years thereafter.
Net Lets
A round of applause for DraftKings, who have self-reported a compliance failure to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission after inadvertently offering bets on the tennis UTR pro-series, which hadn’t been approved in the state.
Betting took place over 12 days in March, with 864 illegal bets, totalling US$7,867 accepted. All the money has now been returned to punters, with winnings and losses canceled.
We Will Find You
The Southern District of New York has charged a man, Joseph Garrison, with the crime of hacking 60,000 DraftKings US accounts last year that led to the illegal withdrawal of US$600,000 from 1,600 accounts.
Harrison is charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, two counts of fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
All PointsBets Are On
Fanatics Betting and Gaming have struck a deal to acquire PointsBet US for US$150 million.
PointsBet will retain its Canadian and Australian operations. The agreement is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.
Texas Rollin’
The Texas House of Representatives has voted through a constitutional amendment bill allowing Lone Star voters to yay or nay online sportsbooks.
HJR 102 was passed by 101 votes to 42 on May 11. It is accompanied by House Bill 1942, which proposes a full online sports betting regulatory regime under the Texas Lottery Commission, a tax rate of 15 percent and a US$2 million license application fee.
And Finally
Pragmatic Play has launched its Peaky Blinders Slot, inspired by the hit British TV gangster series, on the US gaming market.
Great things are expected of the studio’s first-ever branded game…By order of the Peaky Blinders!
