March 19, 2020 Gambling / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

Canada’s House of Commons Responds to U.S. Sports Gambling Expansion

Recently, Canadian House of Commons members of Parliament Brian Masse and Kevin Waugh brought forward Bill C-218, or the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, as an attempt to legalize single event sports betting in Canada. The legislation would “make it lawful for the government of a province, or a person or entity licensed by the lieutenant governor in council of that province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in the province that involves betting on a race or fight or on a single …

March 2, 2020 Gambling / NFL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

Illinois Village Mayor and Brother of Former Bears Linebacker Charged in Gambling Ring

Casey Urlacher, brother of Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, was among a group of ten people charged with operating an illegal offshore sports gambling ring on Feb. 20, 2020.

According to the indictment, the alleged ringleader, Vincent DelGiudice, paid a Costa Rican-based sportsbook service a fee to use its online gambling platform. DelGiudice then solicited gamblers to place wagers on the website. To increase the number of gamblers, DelGiudice hired agents, including Urlacher, to enlist additional gamblers in exchange for a cut of their …

February 20, 2020 Hockey / NHL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

NHL and IMG Arena Announce New Live Stream Sports Betting Service

On Feb. 18, 2020, the NHL and IMG Arena announced a new partnership agreement that will allow sports betting operators to live stream selected out-of-market NHL games. The goal of the agreement is to get sports bettors–specifically, NHL sports bettors–more involved in NHL games that they bet on, but normally could not watch.

Since 2013, IMG Arena, a London-based company that specializes in bringing sport and the sports betting industry closer together, has successfully provided live streamed NHL games at sports betting operators across Europe. The …

January 21, 2020 Celebrities / Fantasy Sports / Fraud / Gambling / NFL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling / TV

DraftKings Comes Under Fire Following Collusion Scandal Involving “Bachelor” Stars

Two stars from “The Bachelor” are facing allegations that they colluded in a DraftKings contest to win $1 million, adding to the controversies that the daily fantasy sports industry is facing.

Jade Roper-Tolbert won $1 million in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker involving the NFL playoffs. She entered 150 lineups, which is the maximum number allowed for a single contestant. Tanner Tolbert, her husband who she met while filming “Bachelor in Paradise,” also entered the same contest with 150 entries. However, it is alleged that none …

January 6, 2020 Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

The Garden of Even Odds: DraftKings and Madison Square Garden Reach New Partnership

With the New Year now underway, sports betting news has skipped the typical holiday lull and continued its deluge into the mainstream.

On the second day of this new decade, the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and DraftKings, Inc. announced a renewed partnership. Under this new marketing agreement, DraftKings is set to become the exclusive sports betting and daily fantasy sports partner of MSG – which includes massive market teams, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Notably, this new deal will allow …

December 4, 2019 Gambling / Sports Gambling

Rolling the Dice: Florida Sports Betting and Gambling

In Murray v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision paved the way for states to enact sports gambling schemes. SCOTUS held that, “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.” In essence, SCOTUS found that a federal law banning sports betting and gambling is unconstitutional.

Following this ruling, a flood of state legislatures moved to capitalize on the sports betting market. Recently, Florida State Sen. …

October 10, 2019 Basketball / Gambling / Hockey / NBA / NHL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

Washington D.C. Arena Will Be America’s First Sports Venue with Sportsbook

Capital One Arena, the home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, is about to become the first major sports venue in the United States to have a sportsbook.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the teams and the arena, announced a partnership with sports betting operator William Hill US. The sportsbook will span multiple floors and be accessible to both non-ticketholders and ticketholders for certain events. Expected to open in 2020, the sportsbook will be open year-round and is accessible to the public from …

October 8, 2019 Antitrust / Fantasy Sports / Gambling / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

FanDuel Owner to Become Largest Gambling Company in $6 Billion Deal, Targets U.S. Sports Betting Market

Flutter Entertainment PLC, the owner of Paddy Power and FanDuel, announced a $6 billion deal to purchase The Stars Group Inc. (TSG) and become the world’s largest online gambling company.

Flutter, an Irish gambling conglomerate, owns gambling websites Paddy Power and Betfair, in addition to sports betting websites FanDuel, Sportsbet, and TVG. Meanwhile, Canadian company TSG owns the world’s largest poker website, PokerStars, as well as BetStars and Full Tilt Poker.

The combined value of the companies is approximately $12 billion. Further, the combined …

October 3, 2019 Fantasy Sports / Gambling / NFL / Sponsorships / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

NFL Officially Partners With DraftKings for Daily Fantasy

On September 26, 2019, the NFL announced that it has selected DraftKings to be its first official daily fantasy partner. Notably, this partnership deal does not include sports betting.

In a joint statement, the companies stated that their partnership includes “exclusive sponsorship of the daily fantasy sports category with access to NFL branding and more.” NFL Chief Revenue Officer Renie Anderson said, “[d]aily fantasy football has been a tremendous vehicle for fans of all types to deepen their engagement with the NFL.” Over 11 …

September 26, 2019 NFL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

NFL Partners with Australian Sports Bookmaker, Signals Future Cooperation in America

With the emergence of widespread sports betting in the USA, we’ve seen the vast majority of the major sports leagues – including the NBA, MLB, and NHL – join forces with sports books, allowing the bookmakers to use live statistics and official licensing on their platforms.

Notably absent from these deals, however, has been the NFL. While ESPNews recently rebranded to show live odds and statistics concurrently with its primary programming, nothing official from the NFL may be shown—the sport is listed as Professional Football, …