This Week in Sports Betting News – December 10th, 2021

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

FLORIDA LOSES THE ABILITY TO BET ON SPORTS

It’s been a whirlwind in the Sunshine State, as the Seminole Tribe and Florida legislators thought they had the “all-clear” to offer online sports betting statewide.

In November, the previously forged agreement between lawmakers and the Seminoles took effect and one app started offering online bets in the state: Hard Rock Sportsbook. Bettors were happily placing online bets with the app for the better part of a month, but behind the scenes, legal challenges and court battles were threatening the legality of sports betting in Florida at large.

Said court battles have been resolved, with the end result being that the changes to the compact (a formal term for an agreement between a federally-recognized tribe and a state government) are considered null and void, knocking Florida back to the 2010 version of the compact, and canceling the changes that Gov. DeSantis and the tribe had agreed to back in April 2021.

The Hard Rock app was still offering bets until December 4th, when the operator officially announced that they would be settling all accounts and ending service in FL.

CONNECTICUT MAKES STRIDES IN FIRST MONTH OF LEGAL SPORTS BETTING

Connecticut’s first full month offering legal online sports betting is in the books, and legislators are already seeing the windfall from allowing legal betting.

After a soft launch period in mid-October 2021, online betting began in earnest in the Constitution State, and at a tax rate of 13.75%, that equated to a $500k cut for the state coffers. The overall handle (the total amount that users spent on sports bets) topped $54 million, leading to a $4.9 million revenue take for operators in CT.

This still pales in comparison to larger and more competitive markets like New Jersey, where the overall handle nearly topped $1.5 billion.

GAN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH MYSTERY PARTNER IN CANADA

GAN is a well-known provider of tech services to betting companies, and it has announced that it has a partner in Canada to start offering sports betting there.

Ontario will be the market in which GAN (and their mystery partner) release a sportsbook, as the province is set to be the only “competitive” market in the country. Other provinces will be offering legal online betting, but theirs will be through a lottery-run provider such as PlayAlberta or PlayNow (in British Columbia).

The smart money is on FanDuel being GAN’s partner in Canada, as they’re already using GAN’s tech services for their sports betting product in the United States. However, as the partner hasn’t been announced and GAN is one of the top providers of sports betting tech in North America, it’s anyone’s guess as to whom is the mystery partner.

MISSOURI LAWMAKER PROPOSES LEGAL SPORTS BETTING

Fifth time is hopefully the charm in Missouri, as the state has attempted to legalize betting unsuccessfully four times before.

Since the overturning of PASPA in 2018, Missouri lawmakers have continued to attempt to put sports betting on the charter and legalize it for eligible bettors 21 and over. This fifth attempt is being championed by ??State Representative Phil Christofanelli in his HB 1666.

The bill, which is likely to be considered in 2022 at the outset of MO’s legislative session, proposes a tax rate of 6.75%. Additional caveats of the proposed bill include:

• No league data mandate
• $50,000 application fee
• $20,000 renewal fee plus $40,000 administrative fees
• Missouri Gaming Commission is the operator

Sports teams in MO are behind legalizing online betting, as the Kansas City Royals, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Blues (NHL), and MLS’ St. Louis City Soccer Club have publicly announced their backing of a ballot initiative to legalize bets.

There’s incentive to do so, since a number of Missouri’s neighboring states already offer online betting: Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee. It’s almost a certainty that bettors there are traveling out-of-state just to bet on their favorite sports- if Missouri can re-capture that revenue and keep it in the state, that would be a massive win for the Missouri General Revenue Fund.

Written by Chris Altman, our US Sports Betting Industry expert. You can learn more about our author’s expertise here.

Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman