LegalSportsBetting Brief: Ohio Fails To Pass Sports Betting In Session 12/30/2020

The Philadelphia 76ers and BetMGM have partnered and FanDuel Sportsbook entered a partnership with WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports.
Ohio’s Legislature has adjourned for 2020 without passing Sub. SB 111 that would have allowed legal sportsbooks in the state.
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia are all in talks to draw up proposals for their 2021 legislative sessions that would legalize sports gaming in their states.

PHILADELPHIA – The sports betting industry in the United States continues to grow every day, and this past week was another example of that.

The NBA saw moves made within the market as the Philadelphia 76ers signed with BetMGM and FanDuel betting lines can now be seen on the TNT Network Show “NBA on TNT” after the sportsbook partnered with WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports.

Ohioans will need to wait until the 2021 session to discuss legal sports wagers as the legislature has adjourned for 2020 without passing a bill to make gambling on sports a legal pastime.

And Alabama, Florida, and Georgia are all slated to take a hard look at legalizing sports wagering industries in their states in 2021 as bills are being drawn up to make this a reality.

The NBA Is Making Moves In Sports Betting Deals

The Philadelphia 76ers have officially partnered with BetMGM after the sportsbook’s recent launch in Pennsylvania.

This partnership will allow the sports betting platform to use the 76ers logos and post wagers and promotions centered around the team. The online sportsbook will have access to the live data and statistics from Philadelphia’s organization.

In return, the basketball team will help promote the sports betting operator with the BetMGM logo being seen during matchups.

WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports and FanDuel Sportsbook has entered into an agreement that will have the TNT Network’s “NBA on TNT” program promote basketball wagers on-air with lines developed by the sportsbook.

Former NBA superstar Charles Barkley will be the face behind this betting advice during the broadcasts. The “Charles Barkley Guarantee” will have Barkley give viewers the best bets to make on various NBA games while his co-hosts provide a back and forth of banter.

This is the first national network that FanDuel will be using in their history as a sportsbook to promote their bets and brand.

Legal Sports Gaming Fails To Pass In Ohio For 2020

The last day of hearings for the Ohio Legislature was on December 22 where a bill that could have legalized sports betting was not heard for passage.

Sub. Senate Bill 111 had a great run toward the end of the session and was expected to pass by its sponsor, Senator John Eklund.

The bill underwent numerous amendments to please lawmakers on both sides of the spectrum but in the end, it didn’t receive another hearing which could have ultimately made sports betting legal in Ohio.

The Buckeye State will need to start from scratch in 2021 with new bill proposals to make sports wagering legal.

The Southeastern States Want Legal Sportsbooks In 2021

Alabama has conducted a study on legal gambling, that includes sports wagering, and has concluded that the pros would outweigh the cons for legalization.

The Heart of Dixie believes that making multiple forms of gambling legal in the state in 2021 could result in a projected $700 million in annual revenue. Of that, $10 million dollars is estimated to be generated by legal sportsbooks.

Alabama has a history of being staunchly opposed to any kind of legal gambling, making the openness for discussion on the subject in the coming year a very big deal for lawmakers.

Move further east and sports fans will hear politicians in Georgia preparing bills to legalize sports wagering in the Peach State during the 2021 session.

Multiple gambling bills are expected to be filed for their time on the floor of the Georgia General Assembly come January. While both land-based and mobile sports betting will be proposed, policymakers believe the best bet for Georgia to launch a legal sports gaming market is through mobile and internet platforms, somewhat mirroring the gaming laws of Tennessee.

A similar bill was seen in 2020 but the Coronavirus Pandemic squashed its chances of moving within the legislature making the 2021 session a great time for redemption in the Peach State.

And to the south, Florida will try and make gambling on sporting events a legal activity in the Sunshine State when the session begins in March.

The 2020 hearings saw no traction in the realm of sports betting but that hasn’t stopped Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) from trying to make it happen in 2021. Brandes filed Senate Bill 392 in the state on Monday.

Under his proposal, sportsbooks would be regulated by the lottery. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has previously expressed opposition to commercial sports gaming in the Sunshine State, preferring to offer it at only their facilities if the pastime were to become legal at all.

What’s Coming Up

New Hampshire and Nevada will be celebrating sports betting anniversaries this week.

New Hampshire launched their mobile sportsbooks exactly one year ago on Wednesday and the first quarter of their 2021 fiscal year has shown that $74.5 million of the combined $80 million handle was from the use of mobile sportsbooks.

This proves the success of the mobile sports wagering platforms in New Hampshire in just one year of being made available to the public. Nevada will be celebrating 71 years of legal sports wagering on Friday.

Mobile applications in Nevada launched in 2012 with operators like William Hill, celebrating eight years of business on Friday. More than half of all bets placed on sporting events in Nevada are through online and mobile platforms.

The College Football Playoff Semifinals will be held on Friday and betting lines for the two big games are already posted on sportsbooks for action by interested players. The Rose Bowl Game will see the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+725) as the underdog going up against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (-1300). The game begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on the ESPN Network. Following the Rose Bowl is the Sugar Bowl Game with the No. 2 Clemson Tigers (-300) favored to beat the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (+250). The Sugar Bowl kicks off at 8:00 p.m. EST on the ESPN Network.

And in other related football news, the NFL will be entering their final weekend of regular season play before teams will either move forward into the postseason or go home until next year.

A wide selection of bets can be found for every matchup happening this weekend on sports betting platforms. It is expected that sportsbooks will see an increase in activity as NFL fans, especially those for teams that are not slated to move forward, will place their last bets of the 2020 football season on their favorites while they still can.

Advertising Disclosure

In order to provide you with the best independent sports betting news and content LegalSportsBetting.com may receive a commission from partners when you make a purchase through a link on our site.

Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.