The gambling legislation negotiations between the Florida Senate and House were suddenly postponed after the Florida Supreme Court decided to give the green light to a proposed constitutional change in terms of gambling. Under the amendment, Florida voters are to be given the exclusive right to decide whether or not to make casino gambling legal.
As far as the amendment is concerned, Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that the wording of the constitutional amendment was not misleading. Still, there were two justices of the Supreme Court who argued that decision, saying the amendment was misleading as it was not clear enough on the matter how would counties, including Broward and Miami-Dade, be affected by the changes.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling was a crucial step forward, the supporters of the gambling amendment would still be required to gather over 700,000 signatures in order for them to ensure the ballot over the upcoming year.
There are some gambling opponents who call for the constitutional change in order to make sure that local lawmakers would not be able to make casino gambling legal unless they get the voters’ approval. The matter of gambling market changes through casino expansion has been considered by the Florida legislature over the past few years. (READ SO: STATES ARE BEST EQUIPPED TO REGULATE AND ENFORCE ONLINE GAMING)
It is important to note that the ruling of the Supreme Court does not measure the qualities of the proposed constitutional changes, but is intended to look at the clarity and adequacy of the initiative and also make sure it is in line with the single-subject requirement.
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The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have warned that an unregistered gaming site is fraudulently using the Casino Rama name in social media advertising to draw unsuspecting players to its own site.
In a joint advisory, the OPP and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said that online gambling adverts that have been promoting gaming offerings allegedly provided by Casino Rama have no association with the Gateway Casinos & Entertainment-operated casino. In reality, the ads direct the public to a website belonging to WinSpirit Casino, which operates as an unregistered gaming platform. The OPP’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) was notified of the suspected fraudulent marketing on April 11.
“Residents of Ontario who opt for online gambling are urged to exercise caution when encountering such advertisements and to verify that the gaming site they intend to use is registered with the AGCO,” the OPP said in a statement.
Police stress that Casino Rama has no affiliation with any unregistered online casinos. The IEB and AGCO jointly reminded the public to exercise caution when choosing to access online casino gaming sites found through social media advertisements.
The lawsuit, filed under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), targets high-level executives at Grand Casino Hinckley, Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Treasure Island Resort and Casino.
The lawsuit claims that these casinos have an “unlawful and unfair competitive advantage” by offering Class III card games without authorization from the state of Minnesota and tribal gaming compacts.
Running Aces President and CEO Taro Ito said: “All we have always sought is to be treated fairly, compete on a level playing field, take advantage of improvements within the pari-mutuel betting environment and operate without fear of being eliminated.”
It is our sincerest wish to have our day in court and let Class III games of chance include popular casino games such as slot machines, video poker, roulette, craps, baccarat and blackjack. It is carried out under a compact negotiated between each tribe and the state government.
Running Aces seeks to recover damages and seeks an injunction against the alleged illegal gambling activities.
Two Delaware legislators are looking to shake up the state’s sports betting market, which just saw its first online sportsbook launch in December.
Reps. Frank Cooke and William Bush introduced HB 365 Thursday. The bill authorizes two skins each for the state’s three casinos.
In June 2018, Delaware was the first state outside of Nevada to take a legal single sport bet after the repeal of PASPA, but progress has moved at a glacial pace since then. BetRivers is now the sole provider of Delaware sports betting through a multi-year agreement signed last year.
How a transition would work should the bill pass is not entirely clear. Requests for comment from sponsors, the Delaware Lottery and Rush Street Interactive went unreturned by publication.
Delaware sports betting bill details
The biggest note about HB 365 is that it gives operators incentive to hand out promotions to acquire bettors. Sportsbooks could deduct 2.5% of monthly handle from taxable revenue through June 2025. That drops to a flat 2% moving forward in July 2025.
That deduction amount could be raised by the director of the Delaware Lottery at their discretion “when … the interests of the lottery system will be served thereby.”
The sportsbooks would be taxed at 18% of adjusted gross sports lottery receipts, which is revenue minus promotions and the federal excise tax. Another 1.5% of that adjusted revenue would be contributed to horse racing purses.
If pieces of legislation had a measurable pulse, a bill to give tribal authorities within Maine exclusive control over online casino play in the state might be showing a faint signal right now. That proposal is effectively in need of some emergency intervention at this time.
On Tuesday, the Maine House of Representatives narrowly communicated a negative sentiment on the bill. While the Maine Senate has an opportunity to keep the bill alive, it might be prolonging the inevitable.
Maine online casino bill meets fate in State House
While there was optimism around the proposal to legalize online casino play in Maine under the auspices of tribal gaming authorities earlier this week, that took a turn. On April 9, LD17771 failed in the Maine House by three votes, 71-74.
“The hope is the Senate will pass and we will recede and concur. Now, folks are on the record and folks can try to flip their votes.”
The bill’s sponsor, Maine Rep. Laura D. Supica, told Randy Billings of the Portland Press Herald2 that “much of the concern comes from the fact that it is exclusively for the tribes.” Billings also reported that other members of the state House would like to see online casino licenses available for the state’s commercial brick-and-mortar casino operators, supporting Supica’s assessment.
It’s a unique wrinkle in Maine’s legislative process that is giving LD1777 one last chance to progress.
Maine legislative staff have estimated4 that in its first full fiscal year, Maine would reap over $4.6 million in tax revenue off online casino play under the tenets of LD1777. There has been some concern that the bill’s 16% tax rate for such gaming is too low. That could be something that a last-minute amendment this week or a new bill in 2025 might address.
For her part, Supica proposes that the new gaming could produce $100 million for the state over the next five years. Among the state services LD1777 earmarks tax revenue for are the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund in addition to the Emergency Housing Relief Fund.
Iowa bettors look to have enjoyed a second straight Final Four run by Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes as sports betting handle in March jumped 17.1% to $272.4 million according to figures released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
In terms of dollars, handle was nearly $40 million higher as Clark — a generational talent of both women’s and college basketball — captivated the nation with her scoring prowess in rewriting the NCAA college record books. Handle was also 68.7% higher than the $161.4 million worth of wagers placed in March 2021, which was Clark’s first NCAA Women’s Tournament and the first year Hawkeye State bettors could legally wager on "March Madness” since the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was the sixth-highest handle in 56 months of wagering in Iowa and the fifth above $250 million in the last six months. Though the IRGC does not disclose handle and revenue by sport, Iowa’s three wins during the NCAA Tournament in March — the Hawkeyes beat 2023 champion LSU in the regional final April 1 — likely contributed to the 6.7% statewide hold.
Iowa bettors are not allowed to place player prop bets on college games involving in-state schools.
Revenue was down 8.4% compared to last year as the hold was nearly two full percentage points lower than March 2023. The state collected $1.2 million in taxes for the month, lifting the total for the first quarter of 2024 to $3.6 million.
You know it’s a good month for bettors when…
The win rate from wagers placed via sports betting apps was 6.6% as Iowa’s 19 mobile sportsbooks generated $252 million handle for March. DraftKings and FanDuel were 1-2 as expected, but FanDuel’s 7.6% hold marked the first time the digital juggernaut had back-to-back months with a sub-10% win rate since June and July in 2022.
FanDuel did reach a pair of milestones in the Hawkeye State, surpassing $1.5 billion handle with $67.7 million worth of bets in March, and also cleared $125 million in all-time revenue after collecting $5.1 million in winnings. DraftKings, meanwhile, narrowly missed its second month with $100 million handle, coming up $1.2 million short with its second-best month of action behind last November. It had a 6.7% hold to claim $6.7 million in revenue and pace all mobile books.
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