“Don’t be taken in by calls for ‘integrity fees’ or any other form of government-granted privilege. This is just a case of special interests trying to rig the law in their favor—and there’s no integrity in that.”
—Columnists Jason Huffman and Russ Latino, criticizing the professional sports leagues’ efforts to get a cut of sports betting wagers in the reason.com blog
“I believe this is an issue we ought to take up, if we happen to be around, in January as part of the next session, because clearly this is going to be something that every state is going to have to take a good hard look at.”
—Charlie Baker, Massachusetts governor, on when the legislature might take up the issue of sports betting in the Bay State
“As soon as the court decision came down, my phone was ringing off the hook with people trying to schedule appointments with me from all the different interests, even the lobbyists from the county fairs.”
—Senator Bill Dodd, a California lawmaker commenting on the interest in amending the state constitution to allow sports betting
“Because of the situation long ago established in Connecticut, until we have an agreement with the tribal nations on how to proceed with respect to their rights, we can’t proceed at all.”
—Dannel P. Malloy, governor of Connecticut, sounding pessimistic about a sports betting agreement with the state’s gaming tribes
“He is trying to push through a casino bill about which the public’s understanding has not advanced at all, and we cannot help doubting his quality as a cabinet minister.”
—Excerpt from a no-confidence motion against Keiichi Ishii, Japan tourism minister, by critics trying to block passage of the IR Implementation Bill
“We’re trying to make e-Sports an official medal sport in the 2022 Asian Games. E-Sports is a trend that is very popular among young people, so we can never cut the connection with its young fans and players.”
—Wei Jizhong, honorary president, Olympic Council of Asia, who successfully pushed for e-Sports in the upcoming Asian Games
“It’s a gambling promotion law.”
—Tetsuro Fukuyama, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, who opposes IRs in the country
“There’s a direct trade-off between tax rates and the (casinos’) ability to be competitive. For casinos to survive, to be profitable, and to raise money for good causes, we in the public sector must find it necessary to understand that balance.”
—Gordon Medenica, director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency at the 22nd annual East Coast Gaming Congress, held at Harrah’s Atlantic City
“It seems like this effort may be running out of steam. With casinos fairly well spread around the Northeast, there might not be much more demand for casinos in North Jersey. I think that sports betting might either satisfy the appetites of North Jersey politicians for gaming money or whet them. It all depends on how the public responds.”
—David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada to the Press of Atlantic City on the continuing support for expanding casinos into northern New Jersey
“Just like the NBA, when you speak of Los Angeles, people think of the Lakers. We want the same. We want e-Sports to be the calling card of a city.”
—Joses Zhu, senior manager, Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group, on the rise of eSports in China, home of 250 million gamers
