Chris Christie is Out of Touch
The New Jersey ex-governor spouted off about chances of legalization in Texas and California last week. But according to iGB, he’s way off the mark.
In an interview with Covers about the state of legal gambling in the US last week, the former New Jersey governor revealed that he is out of touch. Though he and his administration spearheaded the lawsuit that resulted in legal sports betting across the US, Christie would be wise to speak of what he knows.
Or as gaming consultant Brendan Bussmann said, “Texas and California are beasts unto their own and have their own political dynamics, which make them their own markets. This isn’t waving pixie dust on everything and making sports betting happen like one former governor seems to think.”
So, to get to the comments in question. Asked about the status of wagering legalization in California, Christie told Covers, “I don’t know about California. This really takes gubernatorial leadership, and Gavin Newsom has got to decide if this is one of the issues he wants to lead on.
“Without gubernatorial leadership, the legislature won’t do it because they’re pulled, like taffy, in too many directions by too many different interests. Without the governor pushing for it, I don’t think it’ll happen.”
If Christie had been paying attention, he’d know that gubernatorial leadership is definitely not critical for this issue in California. In fact, neither is the state legislature. Tribes have said they want to keep all lines of communication open and relationships healthy. State lawmakers won’t be the final arbiters of a gambling expansion. Tribes will be.
And in Texas, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is staunchly opposed to a gambling expansion. He’s also staunchly opposed to allowing the senate to consider — never mind pass — anything without a Republican majority.
“They say, ‘Oh, we almost passed it last session.’ You know, they almost passed it with every Democrat voting for it and about one of four Republicans voting for it,” Patrick said on a WFAA podcast. “We don’t do that in the senate… If I don’t have 15 or 16 Republicans out of my 19 or 20, then we’re not passing the bill out.
“The difference between the senate and the house is we don’t let the Democrats run the senate. We know how to work across the aisle without ceding power to the other side to let them run the senate like Dave lets Democrats run the house. We’re a Republican state.”
Despite that, Christie told Covers, “I think (legalization will) happen in Texas in the next legislative session.”
Passage of Missouri’s Amendment Could Be Contested, But Likely Won’t Be
Missouri’s Christian County Nov. 19 added 9,800 votes to the state’s total on Amendment 2, the legal sports betting initiative, likely narrowing the margin of victory from the thousands to the hundreds. Of the late votes the county submitted, 30,320 ballots were “no” votes and 19,955 were “yes.” Those votes don’t appear to have been added to the Secretary of State’s official count, though it also doesn’t appear that the votes would change the result.
The differential is well below the one-half of one percent threshold in which the “loser” could call for a recount. But it seems unlikely that the opposition campaign run by Caesars Entertainment would request a recount.
Land-based casino companies in Missouri didn’t support the initiative. Caesars was the only one to mount an opposition campaign, which is funded with $14 million. But in mid-October, likely after the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) shared its interpretation of the initiative, the campaign pulled back on advertising.
In late October, the MGC confirmed with iGB that it interprets the language of the new law to mean that every casino location would get a digital skin for sports betting. Stakeholders previously believed that the casinos would get one skin per company. For Caesars and Penn Entertainment, both of which operate three casinos, the interpretation means they can each apply for up to three skins vs. one.
Intralot Under Investigation in D.C.
Intralot’s Washington, D.C. lottery and sports betting contract is the subject of a new investigation from the District’s attorney general’s office, reports iGB.
Axios cited anonymous sources Nov. 18 saying that attorney general Brian Schwalb’s office requested more information related to the contract last summer. It is unclear if the investigation centers around Intralot specifically or a subcontractor. Schwalb’s office does have the power to bring civil lawsuits against companies if applicable. But the exact motive of the investigation and timeline are unclear.
Greek-based Intralot has run the DC Lottery since 2009. In 2019 it was also awarded a controversial $215 million, no-bid contract to run online sports betting as well. The platform it rolled out, GambetDC, never lived up to expectations. The app performed extremely poorly, both in terms of usability and revenue projections.
ROGA Opens RFP for Data Clearinghouse Technology Provider
The Responsible Online Gambling Association (ROGA) Nov. 19 announced that it is building an interested parties list for an upcoming request for proposal (RFP). The group will be searching for a technology company to run its data clearinghouse, which initially, it hopes, will power a national voluntary exclusion list available to all.
Bally’s, Bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and Penn Entertainment are members. When the new nationwide self-exclusion list is live, ROGA members will share it within their group, meaning that if a player self excludes in Florida on Hard Rock Bet, then the player would also be self excluded on Fanatics Sportsbook in New York.
Companies interested in the bid process must sign and return a non-disclosure statement by Nov. 25.
October Revenue Reports Mixed
Operators in Illinois had a record September, reporting $136.4 million in revenue, the highest since digital sports betting went live in June 2020. The revenue record was set just three months into a revised tax structure that taxes operators on a sliding scale from 20 percent-40 percent, depending on volume. Prior to July, the tax was 15 percent of gross gaming revenue.
Bettors in Wyoming laid down a record $24.5 million in wagers in October, according to the Wyoming Gaming Commission’s October 2024 report, but gross gaming revenue (GGR) was $1.9 million and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was $878,128. Those numbers are down significantly year-over-year and month-over-month. The drop in AGR is likely due to promotional write-offs. BetMGM showed a loss of $78,004 in AGR while DraftKings took more than $1 million in bets, but had AGR of $466,963.
During the first October in which Washington, D.C. bettors had access to multiple sports betting platforms, the DC Lottery reported a record $65.8 million in handle, but month-over-month decline in GGR with operators taking in a combined $6.6 million. The revenue decline can be attributed in part to low hold of 2.35percent for Caesars Sportsbook. October was the first full live month for Fanatics Sportsbook, which took $2.2 million in bets.
Fanatics Opens 11th Connecticut Sportsbook
Through its partnership with the Connecticut Lottery, Fanatics Sportsbook Nov. 19 opened its 11th sportsbook in the state. The standalone sportsbook in Norwalk has teller windows, eight wagering kiosks and HD TVs throughout. The book at Sportech’s Winners location.
Fanatics Sportsbook is the Connecticut Lottery’s exclusive sports betting vendor, and the company is one of only three that are live in the state. DraftKings and FanDuel each have partnerships with tribes.
In Other News …
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission continued an adjudicatory hearing around DraftKings allowing consumers to fund accounts with credit cards, which is not legal in the state. The hearing went for seven hours. The issue occurred at least twice, and commissioners Nov. 20 were clearly exasperated at the company’s inability to quickly correct the problem. The commission will issue its ruling, which will likely include a fine, sometime in the future.
Delaware North revealed Nov. 19 that it has partnered with Playtech to operate its Betly Sportsbooks, starting with the Ohio platform, which replaces MVGBet. The company will migrate other platforms in the future.
Caesars Sportsbook has placed 48 kiosks at small businesses around Washington, D.C., the company announced Nov. 18. The kiosks replace the GambetDC kiosks operated by Intralot.
