In states that have recently passed sports betting legislation this is crunch-time. Football is the king of sports wagering in the U.S. and football season gets going in a couple weeks. Companies are scrambling to get the green light from their states in time to take wagers before season’s kick off. It’s time for a rundown of what you can expect in states ready to take wagers:
Delaware – Status Quo
The First State was the first to offer “Vegas-style betting” after the SCOTUS decision. However, little has developed in Delaware since then. You can still make only single-game wagers at the state’s three casinos. There is no mobile app and it’s unlikely there will be one before the NFL season is over. The state will still offer its wildly popular parlay cards. They are expanded this year to include college football. You can bet the parlay cards at over 50 retailers around the state. Those retailers range from bars and restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings to convenience stores to neighborhood barber shops.
New Jersey – Many Options
The Garden State has a garden variety of options already in place for football season and more on the way. There are now eight physical sports books in the state and one virtual book online. Six of the eight are located in Atlantic City with the other two being racetracks in the northern part of the state. The nine available betting outs are operated by seven different companies. That’s great news for those, like myself, that believe increased competition will lead to more competitive pricing. You can expect more mobile betting options in New Jersey before the football season starts. Apps and websites from MGM, FanDuel, BetStars (sports wagering arm of PokerStars), and William Hill should all make their debut before the month is out. Expect Caesars, Resorts, and Golden Nugget to have branded online sites not too long after.
Mississippi – Ramping Up
The Magnolia State is blooming with sports books this month. College Football is particularly popular in the south and you can bet casinos want to draw in crowds to wager and watch. By the time you read this blog there could be as many as 15 sports books operating in the state.
Mississippi has a wide variety of casinos and casino ownership. However, so far, the state is quickly being dominated by William Hill. MGM was first to market at their properties in Tunica and Biloxi. Boyd Gaming followed with IP Biloxi and Sam’s Town. Caesars was next to join the party with betting at Horseshoe Tunica. Now, Penn National has announced some of its sports books will open for business August 17. Judging by the timing of the announcement, I’m guessing William Hill will be their vendor. At the time of this writing, William Hill still hasn’t been licensed by the MS Gaming Commission; however, WH says it has deals in place with 11 casinos, which will be named once the company is licensed. By adding in Penn’s five properties, the math adds up for William Hill to be the sports wagering vendor for the following properties:
- Hard Rock Biloxi
- Palace Biloxi
- Treasure Bay Biloxi
- Boomtown Biloxi
- Hollywood Gulf Coast
- Silver Slipper Gulf Coast
- Island View Gulfport
- Hollywood Tunica
- 1st Jackpot Tunica
- Resorts Tunica
- WaterView Vicksburg
There are 21 casinos in Mississippi, so there’s still room for further competition. As of now, there’s no mobile betting in Mississippi. It might take a creative law that allows for casinos to have multiple online partners (like New Jersey) to spawn further competition. It’ll be interesting to see how well these sports books will be managed. Finding adequate staffing for a sub-industry that has never existed in this part of the country could be burdensome for these casinos. It may result in some long lines and confused customers for the first few months.
West Virginia – The Long and Winding Road
The Mountain State is certainly taking a winding path over their sports wagering mountain. They were positioned to be an early mover after the SCOTUS decision but they’ve had some political in-fighting. The situation isn’t helped by the governor owning the state’s only stand-alone casino. While no dates have been announced, you can expect a flurry of sports book openings in West Virginia around September 1. There will be mobile betting in the state as well. Here’s what we know:
- The Greenbrier, the only casino in the state, has partnered with FanDuel.
- Hollywood Racino Charles Town has partnered with William Hill.
- Mountaineer Racino is still deciding on a primary operator.
- Wheeling Island Racino and Mardi Gras Racino, owned by the same corporation, has an operator in place that they have yet to announce.
Rhode Island – Much Like Delaware
Don’t forget about Rhode Island. Like Delaware, the Ocean State decided to put sports wagering in the hands of the lottery. It then contracted out the risk management (William Hill) and the back-end systems (IGT). Without competition and with the lottery keeping 51% of revenues, there’s very little room for growth. IGT and William Hill will split 32% of the revenue. The casino, Twin Rivers, keeps 17%. This all mirrors Delaware and will result in Rhode Island going to the back of the line when it comes to innovation roll-outs from its operators. Don’t expect a mobile app in Rhode Island for a while.
The state will still get lines of eager bettors each weekend, but sports wagering will likely be a static industry in the state. So far, officials are stating they will be operational by the beginning of October. That’s a missed opportunity on the first four weeks of the football season. However, it’s indicative of it not being a high priority.
Pennsylvania – Wait Till Next Year
License plates in Pennsylvania used to have the slogan “You’ve Got a Friend in Pennsylvania.” Well, if you do, don’t bother asking him to put a bet down for you in this football season. We’ve noted before that the tax rate and licensing fees in Pennsylvania were prohibitive. As a result, casinos refused to jump at the chance to spend $10 million to be licensed for sports wagering. Finally, Parx Casino, the state’s highest grossing casino, announced its intention to participate. Other casinos have slowly followed suit. Meanwhile, the state’s gaming control board has been slow to form and adopt regulations regarding sports wagering. It’s unlikely we’ll see the first sports book open in Pennsylvania this calendar year. A huge missed opportunity for the state considering it’s surrounded by three states who will be ready to go for football.
Pennsylvania is also signaling that it will allow only one online partner for each casino and that it must be branded with the casino name. This lack of competition and the exorbitant tax rates on the casinos paint a bad picture in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania residents may find themselves frequently crossing state lines to get their bets down.
There are plenty of developments in other states as well. Hopefully we’ll touch on them in our next round up. In the meantime, look to the comments section of this post for any additional news regarding the states above, and watch for additions to the media listings in this website’s “Legal Sports Betting Map.” Also, if you’re a reader in one of the states mentioned, I’d like to hear your feedback regarding the new sports wagering options you have.
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One would think that, in Philadelphia, with several bookies in every neighborhood–there are even whole bars in many neighborhoods where bookies work out of (they are referred to by the public as “gambling bars”)–casinos in or near the city would be dying to get in on the sports action. Especially with a new casino opening between Sugarhouse and Harrah’s in Chester.
I don’t understand why Sugarhouse would not jump at the opportunity. They brag about being “Philadelphia’s only casino”; though I’m not surprised. It took them five years, after opening to get a poker room and my guess is they are happy gouging the slot, video poker, roulette, and blackjack players.
I have yet to get over to Atlantic City and place a bet but plan on doing so in the not-too-distant future. I’ve never made a legal bet in a casino so it’s something for me to get at least a little excited about.
The trouble for those Philly casinos is that it is hard to make the numbers add up to warrant opening a sports book. Typical hold percentage for a sports book is roughly 5%. If you estimate the monthly cost of running a sports book with vendor fees, salaries, regulation, and operational costs to be $2 million per month and then you add the licensing fee on top of that and a 36% tax rate. I would estimate a sports book would need to have a monthly handle of $50 million in order to break-even. All of the NJ sports books COMBINED had a handle of $40.7 million last month.
The only way a PA casino could be profitable with sports wagering would be to offer a product that completely fleeces the public. However, if that happens, the local bookies in the bars have won. They’ll have the superior product and it won’t be hard for the consumer to identify that.
Are illinois and Missouri doing anything?
They are…but not in time for this football season. You can keep track of the developments in all the states via the interactive map here:
https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/gambling-with-an-edge/legal-sports-betting-us/
Click on a pin to pull up a list of the most recent developments in that state.