Sports Betting Week in Review (12/7-12/11)
Contents
This week has been crazy with the sports betting news that has come out. DraftKings has entered the Connecticut market while Ohio and North Carolina are trying to move closer to legal betting. Disney is ramping up content for ESPN+, and revenue reports for November are beginning to surface. Here are this week’s biggest sports betting stories.
Monday: DraftKings Enters Connecticut
DraftKings made a splash Monday morning by entering the Connecticut market. They partnered with one of the tribal casinos, and it could allow them to begin operations before the state even passes sports betting laws. Thanks to New Mexico setting a precedent for this situation, it could change sports betting in the U.S. If sportsbooks can operate at tribal casinos without sports betting laws in the state, we could see sports betting in the country sooner than we think.
Tuesday: Oregon Reports November Betting Numbers
Oregon saw a $25 million betting handle in November, which was slightly down from the October record, but the state did see an increase in revenue for the month. The sports calendar has shifted to full football in November, possibly why the slight dip in the betting handle. However, the state should see a rebound in December with college basketball and NBA action in the mix and football continuing its season.
Wednesday: Ohio Looks to Move on Sports Betting
Ohio has one last chance to move on a sports betting bill in the final lawmaking sessions in 2020. The state has been struggling to get momentum on a sports betting bill, and it could get tougher after key lawmakers are leaving the state after the 2020 election. However, if a bill can be passed in the next few weeks, it will move forward in 2021. There will be a huge push among lawmakers to get something done in the final weeks of the year.
Thursday: North Carolina is Closer to Legal Betting
North Carolina lawmakers and the tribal community have agreed on the sports betting regulations proposed for in-person betting in the state. The tribes still need to have a final review over the laws, but it looks promising that the Tar Heel State will have in-person betting available by March Madness. The issue is that the casinos that offer to bet will be in the far western part of North Carolina, which is at least an hour from a populated city. North Carolina took forever to launch sports betting, and mobile betting does not look to be in the works anytime soon either.
Friday: Disney Ramps Up Sports Betting Content
This week, Disney announced that the company would be adding more sports betting content to its ESPN+ subscription. The goal is to get more subscribers to ESPN+ and ramp up on sports betting content as more than half of the U.S. states have passed sports betting bills. ESPN+ falls behind Hulu and Disney+ for subscribers, and ESPN+ is looking to hit 12 million subscribers by 2024. ESPN+ has also been losing money and needs to be around $45-$50 a month to profit off the streaming platform. The goal is for Disney to get there with sports betting content.
