Federal Election Bill Filed
After election betting sites like Kalshi and Polymarket took hundreds of millions in bets on the 2024 presidential election, a group of federal lawmakers is seeking to ban such betting. The “Ban Gambling on Elections Act” was filed in the U.S. House Dec. 17 and a similar bill was filed in the Senate.
The two-page House bill would amend the Commodity Exchange Act to ban election betting on such exchanges. It seems unlikely the bill will immediately move forward, as Congress is in a lame-duck session ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20.
“With distrust in our electoral system at an all-time high, we must crack down on gambling in all U.S. elections,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said, according to an Oregon Capital Chronicle story. “Our democracy demands reliable and transparent processes to cast ballots and tally results, not a horse race clouded by gambling odds and bets placed.”
How Account Linking Could be a Game Changer for ESPN Bet
When it comes to sports betting platforms, a key driver of success is differentiation. Some platforms lean into massive bet menus. Others lean into high limits. And still others lean into microbetting. ESPN Bet is leaning into… ESPN.
And it believes connecting the Worldwide Leader in Sports with a like-branded betting app gives it a serious advantage, writes iGB.
“The assumptions you can draw are that the individual who links is betting more often,” Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN Bet and ESPN Fantasy, told iGB. “Perhaps some of the bets are of higher value and we’re able to identify different kinds of betting behaviour. This group of fans that are playing fantasy or betting are a high-value player… they’re going to be a very valuable customer for ESPN, so we want to find ways to engage them.”
To that end, ESPN Bet announced Nov. 1 that the betting app and media platform are now linked. This means that customers of ESPN Bet can track their bets on either the wagering app or the traditional ESPN media app. They also have access to watch any game that ESPN has the rights to on the betting app. It takes less than a minute to link accounts.
Morrison said the platform in late November introduced “gamecast and watch” onto the app. This means that bettors in the wagering app will see an icon appear if the game is available and they can simply click to watch the game without having to leave ESPN Bet.
“ESPN and ESPN Bet will continue to offer players new ways to toggle between apps. The experience, so far, has been a lot of ‘test and learn’,” Morrison said.
Bally Bet Now Live in Ontario
Bally’s Dec. 16 announced the launch of Bally Bet Sportsbook & Casino in Ontario. Bally Bet is live in 11 U.S. jurisdictions, including New Jersey and New York.
In Ontario, the company launched its combined app, bringing digital sports betting and casino onto a single platform. As the company continues to roll out its redesigned app, consumers will be instructed on how to migrate current accounts to the new platform.
“This integrated platform merges the features of our previous apps, providing players in Ontario with a seamless experience for both sports and casino betting,” Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves said via press release. “Our commitment to enhancing the player experience remains at the forefront as we strive to personalize the enjoyment of playing Bally Bet.”
Now That’s Expensive!
Bettors opting to fund their gambling accounts in states where it is legal to do so might be in for a surprise, writes Yahoo! Finance. In a Dec. 16 story about a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report, the media outlet wrote that some credit companies treat funding a gambling account like a cash advance and charge fees. It can cost gamblers $10 per credit-card swipe or 5 percent of the advance, whichever is more.
According to the report, such credit-card fees arose in Kansas and Ohio after wagering went live in those states. Some states, including Massachusetts and Tennessee ban funding gambling accounts with credit cards.
Record-Breaking Revenue
Michigan sportsbooks led a landslide of records for November with new highs for handle and revenue. Operators in the state took in a total of $$284.3 million in bets before promotional deductions, according to iGB. Online gambling platforms accounted for $220.7 million in receipts and sports betting operators took $58.3 million in wagers.
Sportsbooks in Kansas broke records for handle and revenue in November, according to the Dec. 12 Kansas Lottery report. Bettors laid down $291 million in wagers and operators kept $34.8 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR). November was the second consecutive month that bettors wagered more than $250 million, and the fourth since betting went live in Sept. 2022. Operator hold was 11.9 percent.
In Indiana, sportsbooks also reported record November handle, according to the Dec. 13 Indiana Gaming Commission report Sportsbooks also broke new records for GGR at $68.5 million and tax payments at $6.5 million. Hold in Indiana was 11 percent in November, marking the sixth time this month that operators reported a double-digit hold.
Connecticut sportsbooks followed the trend, taking a record $228.2 million in handle and $30.3 million in gross gaming revenue, according to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s November report.
In other news …
Georgia Gov. Bryan Kemp cut the ribbon Dec. 13 when PrizePicks debuted its expanded Atlanta offices. The Georgia-based company doesn’t offer legal sports betting but it is among the top fantasy providers in the U.S. Sports betting remains illegal in Georgia, but PrizePicks operates fantasy contests, which are not regulated or taxed in the state.
