LegalSportsBetting Brief: Sports Betting Legalization 11/10/2020

Ohio still has a chance to make sports betting legal before the end of 2020.
South Dakota, Maryland, and Louisiana have all voted in favor of legal sports wagering markets through the November 3 vote.
Canada is seeking to legalize single-game sports betting on a province-to-province basis with the introduction of a new bill.
Barstool Sportsbook is officially a retail sportsbook brand with its first launch in Colorado.

BALTIMORE – This week in legal sports betting has been a big one for North America as three states have legalized the pastime through a public vote on November 3.

Canada is also trying to get legal single-game sports bets back on the table with the introduction of a new bill and Ohio is looking to get their sports wagering bill passed during their current lame-duck session.

And in non-legislative news, Barstool Sportsbook made its retail debut for the first time anywhere in the new operation’s history at a venue in Colorado.

Three States Make Sports Betting Legal By Way Of Vote

A handful of states had some type of sports betting legalization on their November 3 ballots and Louisiana, Maryland, and South Dakota all voted in favor of legal sports wagering for their states.

Virginia also voted for casino locations that may or may not house sportsbooks when they begin opening in the towns of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.

The town of Deadwood in South Dakota will see legal sportsbooks at both Tribal and commercial locations in the city.

Maryland has not yet made any set rules for gambling on sporting events as discussions for the new law will happen in the 2021 legislative session. Louisiana will also nail down the details of their upcoming structure for legal sports betting in the 55 of 64 parishes that voted to open sports betting markets in their communities.

Ohio Can Still Legalize Sports Betting By The End Of The Year

Ohio House Bill 194 is still up for consideration in the 2020 lame-duck session. This sports betting bill has seen the most progress throughout the year despite the setbacks caused by the outbreak of COVID-19.

But with the looming budget cuts to the education system and the revenue from the industry being put toward education, lawmakers could vote in favor of legalization by year’s end.

One of the bill’s main sponsors, Representative Dave Greenspan wasn’t voted to return to his position for next term but the OH HB 194 will no longer be active in 2021 should it not pass in this session so his return is a non-issue as the bill will not be back either if it is not approved soon.

House Bill 194 has 22 licenses for operators available for 11 locations and an 8% tax rate which is projected to be millions of dollars’ worth of revenue for education in Ohio.

Canada Has Proposed Legal Single Game Sports Betting With New Bill

Bill C-218- The Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act is back on the floor for Parliament to review in Canada after its first introduction in February prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

This bill would make sports betting legal in Canada by creating a safe and transparent market for consumers that would benefit the country with the revenue seen by the industry.

This bill is backed by the major sports teams in Canada and if approved by Parliament would be something that the people would vote on in each province.

Any province that was in favor of the activity would have a legal market opened for them to gamble on single sporting events.

Sports betting in Canada sees an estimated $4 billion wagered annually by Canadian sports bettors using international sportsbooks which is all money lost for the country without a sports wagering industry of their own.

Barstool Sportsbook Has Made Their Mark In Colorado

Barstool Sportsbook has finally become a dream realized as it was the sports media company’s founder Dave Portnoy’s dream to one day have his company become a sportsbook.

After partnering with Penn National Gaming (PNG) in January, the merger created the Barstool Sportsbook brand that opened its first venue at the Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk in Colorado on Friday.

This is just the first of many Barstool Sportsbooks that will be seen nationwide in the future as the new company continues on its path to expansion across the country.

Looking At The Week Ahead

The week ahead has a lot of sports news just waiting to break. The 2020 Masters Tournament for professional golf will be happening from November 12-November 15 for the first time in the history of the event.

It usually takes place in April but the outbreak of COVID-19 had it postponed. American golfer Bryson DeChambeau is the favorite to win with odds of (+750).

Tennessee, who launched their official sports betting platforms on November 1 will see its regulator, the Tennessee Education Lottery (TEL), and their Sports Wagering Advisory Council hold a meeting on November 16 at 12:00 pm CT.

Previous meetings saw the licensing of the four sportsbooks that were able to open. This meeting could find more approvals given out to operators that would allow for more Tennessee sports betting sites.

Pennsylvania will celebrate their second anniversary of the launch of its sports wagering market on November 15.

On that day two years ago, the Hollywood Casino Penn National Race Course opened their doors and took the very first legal sports bets in the Commonwealth. Since then the sports betting industry in Pennsylvania has grown leaps and bounds with 12 retail locations and a number of online and mobile sportsbook applications.

Over three billion dollars has been seen in handle for the 12 locations and 10 apps combined with $168,146,309 in total revenue in the two years since the opening of the industry.

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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.