The sports wagering world is moving at a frenetic pace lately. It’s going to be hard to keep up. For instance, since my last blog post written four days ago, we’ve seen the following:
- New Jersey opened their fourth sports book – and knowledgeable players were none too happy with what they saw.
- Ohio introduced a bill to legalize sports betting.
- Colorado now considering sports betting as part of larger gaming expansion.
- DraftKings secured a partnership with New York casino Del Lago Resort and gave a glimpse at what their mobile app will look like.
Now Warming Up in the Bullpen: Mississippi
Let’s start in the Deep South though. Mississippi will be the next state to offer full-scale sports wagering as early as July 21. Plans for most casinos will begin to disseminate beginning July 19 when the Mississippi Gaming Commission holds their next meeting. They just approved the state’s sports betting regulations at their last meeting on June 21 and set up a mandatory 30-day waiting period before casinos could start taking wagers. Expect a slew of companies to apply, and temporarily be approved, for licensing at the July 19 meeting. This will give us a good indication of who is working with whom regarding Mississippi sports books. Here’s what we know so far:
- The first mover is likely to be MGM which is said to be ready Day One at both Gold Strike Tunica and Beau Rivage in Biloxi. They will be managed by MGM’s in-house bookmaking. MGM might enjoy a significant period of first-mover advantage too as the ever-present William Hill is not yet licensed in Mississippi.
- William Hill is said to already have agreements in place with at least 7 casinos in Mississippi. They haven’t press released which casinos yet and they are still awaiting licensing. It’s unlikely William Hill won’t open its first sports book in the state until at least mid-August.
- Most casinos plan to convert on-property sports bars into sports betting bars. This makes sense, since they probably already have ideal TV setups as well as food and beverage resources in place.
- Mississippi allows for mobile betting with a twist. You must be on-property to bet mobile. Expect this section of the Mississippi code to change once they see the advantage of less-restrictive mobile betting in other states.
- Expect sports betting options to be in place at the majority of Mississippi casinos by the full start of the NCAA football season on September 1.
FanDuel Sports Book Debuts in New Jersey – Reaction is Mixed
FanDuel Sports Book opened for business at Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey on Saturday. Located just eight miles from Manhattan and across the parking lot from an NFL stadium, this location has a chance to be the most trafficked of any New Jersey sports book. However, when bettors took a look at their lines for MLB on their opening day, they were immediately turned off. Instead of dealing the industry standard vigorish, FanDuel took it to another level.
While it’s not uncommon for a sports book to offer a 20-cent spread between favorite and underdog (-110/-110), FanDuel posted a 30-cent spread on MLB totals and run lines (-115/-115). This takes the house edge from an average of 4.55% to 6.52%. It’s not as bad as adding a “000” spot to a roulette table, but the precedent is bad news for players. High vig is unsustainable because it chews up a player’s bankroll too quickly. DFS suffered from this. Casino games often suffer from this. The consumer wants a good gamble … heck, that’s probably why you read this website. I don’t need to preach to the choir on this one. Higher vig is bad.
On its second day of operation, the FanDuel lines were all over the map. Some high-vig remained as well as some low-vig 15-cent spread prices as well. Unfortunately, their price on the World Cup Final match held Sunday also had exorbitant vig. It appears FanDuel is still trying to figure this out. To its credit, FanDuel also offered some Happy Hour specials on opening day where you could bet the local teams at ridiculous prices. How ridiculous? Well, the New York Yankees were +200 up to a $100 bet, while every other sports book in the world had them at -110. We like sports books who will take innovative approaches. As a result, we’ll give FanDuel a little more time to figure out its operations before we pass judgment.
Legislative Hot Stove League
Baseball has referred to its offseason as the Hot Stove League for decades dating back to when players would play baseball in the winter and keep warm by a hot stove. Well, it’s offseason for most state legislatures and they’re keeping warm (or cool) by talking about bills they intend to introduce in their next legislative session. For sports bettors in Ohio and Colorado, the rumors are heating up. In Ohio, two state senators, John Eklund and Sean O’Brien, have introduced a bipartisan bill to begin the legalization process. Eklund holds powerful sway in the statehouse in Columbus, so this is a significant step. With sports betting happening in neighboring states, Ohio could move quickly. Meanwhile in Colorado, sports betting might be part of a larger gaming expansion being discussed by legislators which may, in turn, require a voter referendum. That could push their timetable out significantly.
There are over a dozen other states that have sports betting bills or discussions of bills stirring in their legislative pots. Expect discussion to heat up this fall once revenue numbers trickle in from various states. I’ll do my best to touch upon developments as they germinate.
DraftKings Sneak Peek
Lastly, I end this wrap-up with a sneak peek of the DraftKings sports betting mobile app which company founder Jason Robbins tweeted about late last week. The interface looks smart and sleek and could be a game-changer in the world of mobile betting apps. It was also confirmed this week that DraftKings intends to share wallets with its DFS platform. In other words, those users in states where DraftKings will operate both sports books and DFS will be able to use their existing funds on either platform. Maybe even in the same app.
Wait you mean this thing? pic.twitter.com/hQLnoB7tjQ
— Jason Robins (@JasonDRobins) July 13, 2018
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Awesome round-up. This thing is tough to stay on top of. The increased spreads are what everyone was worried about. That won’t fly. Gonna be real interesting to see how they play it.
It appears that in New Jersey, there is either a) a gouge mentality or b) rampant incompetence. Gambling is like any other commodity: when you charge too much, the money you make decreases. The gougers might think that they’ll only lose the wise guys by charging too much vig, but the reality is that even the ploppies realize that their bankrolls are going south too quickly.
You’re right, though, if and when the Meadowlands book ever gets its act together, it’ll be a gold mine. Like the only place selling beer in the desert.