Sports betting roundup: Jersey defies the trend; Canada still not quite there

Sports bettors in New Jersey continued to defy sports betting industry trends – specifically that numbers in May should decrease because of a relative lull in the sports calendar – and provided increased handle in May.

The state’s numbers were up 14 percent, month-on-month, to $814 million. $52.9 million in revenue was reported, which was down about 3 percent.

As usual, more than 90 percent of bets were placed online, per the state report.

The Garden State sustained its momentum. In January through May this year, its sports betting revenues totaled $297 million.

That’s a huge increase from the lockdown-affected 2020, of course, with a more than 200 percent year-on-year rise.

BetOnline boosted The Meadowlands license to reach 65 percent of the state’s revenues in May.

The Meadowlands license, which BetOnline shares with MyBookie, was easily No. 1 in New Jersey.

The Resorts license, which prominently includes DraftKings, was second (18 percent share). Third was Borgata and BetMGM, with a 7 percent share.

The other leading operators:

• Monmouth Park (William Hill, SugarHouse, theScore): $2.3 million.
• Ocean (William Hill, Tipico): $1.3 million
• Hard Rock (Hard Rock, bet365, Unibet): $552k
• Golden Nugget (Golden Nugget, BetAmerica): $-29k
• Tropicana (William Hill): $110k
• Bovada (Bovada, 888, WynnBET): $701k
• Bally’s: $279k

The state reported earnings of $6.8 million in sports betting taxes.

Baseball was the most popular sport to bet in May. There was $326 million in handle on baseball, and basketball pulled in $217 million in wagers.

Ohio battles to find a comfortable middle ground

A proposed bill to legalize sports betting in Ohio – one that gives preference to the state’s pro sports teams – passed the Senate last week and is headed for the House.

SB 176, passed by a 30-2 margin with one abstention, could pass the House late this month. But the changes likely have pushed back the sports-betting introduction until at least April 1, 2022.

A few specifics, per legalsportsreport.com:

There are 25 mobile Type A licenses and 33 retail Type B licenses. Those 25 mobile licenses could lead to as many as 50 online sportsbooks. Licensees can launch one when licensed and apply for another after a year.

Type B licenses now have strict location requirements

No county with fewer than 100,000 citizens will host a retail sportsbook.

Counties with up to 500,000 citizens can have one retail sportsbook.

Up to 1 million citizens can have two retail sportsbooks.

More than 1 million citizens can have three retail sportsbooks.

The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Columbus Blue Jackets and Cincinnati Reds are waiting.

Canada still struggling to place the final OK on sports betting

As lawmakers sometimes do, they are endangering the celebrated sports-betting bill (C-218) that would legalize single-event wagering in Canada by haggling over details as time ticks down.

A new, proposed amendment was debated last week and needs approval this week. The amendment – if passed by the Senate — would alter Bill C-218 and require additional approval from the House of Commons.

If not concluded by the time both the Senate and House recess for the summer this week, the bill could be left dangling in danger of being wiped out by an election later this year.

One senator, though, spoke optimistically.

“The legislation, in fact, doesn't create a single-event sports betting market, it just legalizes it and regulates it,” Saskatchewan Sen. Brent Cotter said Thursday. “That market already exists in the grey and dark corners that trouble us.”

Pennsylvania follows the May trend; rolls forward with big online sports betting numbers

The trend, outside of New Jersey and a small selection of other states, is for betting handle to fall during May while online wagering dominated the landscape.

Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks followed the trend, though the revenue increased.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported last Thursday total sports-betting handle of about $447.5 million. Of that amount, $407.4 million was due to online bets.

The state’s May handle was down from the past two months – generally top earning months in the sports-betting industry.

In April, $479.4 million in sports bets were placed. That followed a strong March, which saw the state take in $560.3 million in wagers.

In May, after paying out winners, total revenue hit $37.4 million (a hold of 8.4 percent). That number was better than April’s $36 million in revenue and a hold of 7.5 percent.

To no one’s surprise, the 2021 numbers continue to dwarf the pedestrian figures from pandemic-addled 2020.

“In releasing and historically comparing the May figures, the Board again noted that due to COVID-19 restrictions, all casinos were closed during the entirety of May 2020, so no revenue was generated by slot machines, table games or retail sportsbooks,” the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said in a press release.

The regulator also noted that “sports wagering numbers were greatly affected in May 2020 due to the shutdown of major North American sports leagues.”

BetOnline partner, the Valley Forge Casino Resort, led the way in handle with approximately $163.5 million in bets.

The happy news doesn’t translate to Maine sports bettors

Legislation aiming to legalize sports betting in Maine won’t happen during the current legislative session.

LB 1352, barring special sessions later this year, won’t make it to approval status. As a result, the state will be without sports betting through 2021 at least.

The bill was not scheduled for further discussion during the most recent hearing.

Governor Janet Mills is not pushing it along, either. She said her constituents aren’t "ready to legalize, support, endorse, and promote betting.”

The Maine State Legislature is technically adjourned, though there are accommodations for special sessions this summer.

Michigan and BetMGM proving a formidable force

In May, online sportsbook BetMGM continued to carve its place as Michigan’s bookmaking leader. For the fifth consecutive month, BetMGM came out on top in the state with total gross receipts of more than $36 million.

May numbers, $94,851,552 in gross receipts, were virtually equal to those of April, when the state reported $94,851,765 in gross receipts.

“Adjusted gross receipts for internet casino gaming were up two-tenths of a percent compared with April, which means state, city and tribal governments received more revenue,” said Henry Williams, Michigan Gaming Control Board executive director.

BetOnline and DraftKings continued to run second and third. BetOnline brought in $16.3 million and DraftKings $15.7 million, up from $14.1 million and just more than $13.9 million, respectively.

BetUS brought $6.6 million in gross receipts.