Sports Betting Week in Review (12/14-12/18)
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A big week in the sports betting industry with Michigan approving licenses for its January launch. Penn National also bought a Maryland casino, so the sports betting operator will launch when it goes live. Multiple states are reporting November revenue, and Illinois posted its October revenue this past Thursday. Here are the biggest sports betting stories from this week.
Monday: Michigan Approves Betting Licenses
Michigan approved 15 sports betting licenses earlier this past week in anticipation of launching online sports betting and gaming. Each approved licensee will need to pass a mobile app test to ensure there are no issues when online gaming goes live. Michigan should be launching online sports betting in the next few weeks and will definitely be taking bets by Super Bowl Sunday.
Tuesday: Indiana Reports November Revenue
Indiana brought in $251.4 million in November, hitting an all-time high for the month. The Hoosier State is now within $100 million of hitting the $1 billion betting handle mark for 2020. The state also brought in $25.3 million in revenue. Even with Illinois’ betting industry starting to take off, the state is still seeing impressive numbers in the fall months. Football and college basketball were huge drivers in Indiana and should continue to be as the year winds down. Indiana will also get more help in 2021 when 888 Holdings launches in the state. The sports betting operator is expecting to go live at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson.
Wednesday: Penn National Buys Maryland Casino
This week, Penn National bought Hollywood Casino Parryville. The sports betting operator is looking to enter the Maryland betting market before the state goes live with it in 2021. This means that Barstool Sportsbook will most likely be entering the market since Penn bought a portion of Barstool in February. Penn National originally owned the property in 2010 but sold it in 2013 to venture into real estate. They are now looking to get back into Maryland because of the potential the state could have with sports betting.
Thursday: D.C. Reports November Revenue
This week Washington D.C. reported its November revenue numbers, and the district is unique compared to other states. Right now, mobile betting is dominating the market due to the coronavirus keeping people home. However, in-person betting in Washington, D.C., is taking over 80% of the handle than mobile betting. This is due to the regulations around sports betting in the area. The high holds and taxes the DC Lottery put on sports betting are forcing online sportsbooks to juice the lines to -118 instead of its usual -110. This is allowing William Hill to dominate D.C. while GameBet struggles to attract a larger betting handle.
Friday: Illinois Reports October Revenue
Although states are reporting November revenue numbers, Illinois just released its October numbers, and they were impressive, to say the least. Illinois is up 42% month-to-month and saw $434 million in bets for October. The state has an impressive start to sports betting, and a lot of it is due to online registration. Bettors can sign-up for accounts at home compared to in-person like the original plan was. Illinois should continue to see growth as 2020 is wrapping up.
