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It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad). Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top U.S. sports betting headlines, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
Top stories around our network this week
On Monday morning’s Wake Up Mintzy show, the popular Barstool host Ben Mintz was blasting Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “1st of Tha Month” in honor of the first day of May. The song contains an n-bomb, and Mintz, who’s not Black, sang right along.
Mintz quickly apologized, to no avail. PENN Entertainment, which now fully owns Barstool Sportsbook, responded by firing him for the slur, much to the chagrin of Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. In a Twitter video, Portnoy said that while he understood PENN’s reasons for ridding themselves of Mintz, he “still f**king disagreed” with the decision.
In any normal week, the Portnoy-PENN kerfuffle would be bold-type, above-the-fold news here at Get a Grip. But not this week — not when a college baseball coach loses his job for possibly influencing a wager placed in Ohio on one of his team’s games.
Long story short, University of Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon scratched his best pitcher, Luke Holman, from a start shortly before the first pitch of a game against favored LSU. Around that time, U.S. Integrity reported that suspicious wagering activity had occurred at the BetMGM Sportsbook at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, home to Pete Rose’s former employer, Major League Baseball‘s Reds.
Bohannon was fired and, unsurprisingly, it came to light that he may have been in contact with a bettor — possibly a former high school baseball coach — at the sportsbook in question. In response to the controversy, several major mobile sportsbooks pulled the Crimson Tide out of their College World Series futures markets, showing how quickly America’s burgeoning legal market is capable of detecting and shutting down illicit activity.
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The Alabama story is likely far from over, and you can rest assured that Sports Handle will be closely following the developments, just as it’s done in virtually all corners of the sports betting universe, as evidenced by this week’s collection of stories from the site and its sisters in Michigan and Ohio. And for additional gambling-related information of vital and/or entertaining interest, be sure to check out the weekly Double Down column on US Bets and the Gamble On podcast.
Regulation could use some education
In gaming regulation, what they don’t know can hurt you
Fanaticism slowly spreading
As Fanatics Sportsbook continues rollout, a look at where licenses are available
Fanatics customers in Ohio begin to get access to sportsbook platform
Burlington tout factory
Vermont sports betting bill one step from governor’s desk
Going out on a mile-high note
Outgoing gaming director proud of Colorado’s competitive sports betting industry
British invasion
U.K. white paper may have major impact on U.S. sports betting reforms
Capitol offense
D.C. moves closer to elimination of problem gambling funding
Almost in the black
DraftKings expects to break even by second quarter of 2023
A different way to wager
Mojo’s bettors have a plan for investing in NFL rookies
Before the summer swoon
Ohio bettors wagered more than $730 million in March, a bump from February
Go, cubs, go!
Several Detroit Lions have enticing Rookie of the Year odds
On this date in 1978, Pete Rose! 3,000 hits!
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) May 5, 2023
Messy Minnesota
Weeks after Rep. Zach Stephenson’s sports betting bill stalled, Sen. Matt Klein pitched an amendment that would send 30% of state tax revenue from wagering to the state’s horse tracks in an effort to save his companion bill, SF 1949. Klein proposed the amendment during Wednesday’s Senate State and Local Government Committee meeting. Chair Erin Murphy laid the bill over, and it could come up for discussion again next week.
Minnesota lawmakers have been debating legal wagering for several years, but they have been unable to broker a deal between the state’s 11 federally recognized tribes and two horse racetracks. Stephenson’s HF 2000 doesn’t include the tracks, and it stalled before getting to the House floor.
Minnesota’s legislature is set to adjourn May 22.
— Jill R. Dorson
FanDuel fights fraud with Prove partnership
FanDuel announced Thursday that it’s partnering with Prove Identity to help offer a “seamless and secure gaming experience,” according to a press release. FanDuel will be utilizing Prove’s Pre-Fill solution, which auto-fills a user’s online application with bank-grade data from authoritative sources, which helps combat account and identity fraud.
Per the release, Prove’s Pre-Fill auto-fills in a “privacy-enhanced fashion only with the customer’s consent.” The partnership is expected to accelerate FanDuel’s online sign-up process by approximately 80%, as it can onboard customers in as few as three clicks.
“With a high number of registration abandonment rates in this market, Prove Pre-Fill will allow FanDuel to securely migrate users through its verification process safely, allowing them to enjoy the company’s portfolio of product offerings,” said Tom Hill, director of digital identity and head of sports betting and iGaming at Prove.
This is the first agreement with a first-tier sportsbook for Prove, whose portfolio spans multiple industries.
— Chris Altruda
Colorado doles out problem gambling grants
On Thursday, the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission announced the recipients of $908,089 in grant money earmarked for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling in the state.
The two organizations that will benefit from the second funding round of this nature in 2023 are the Colorado Division of Gaming and the Kindbridge Research Institute. The latter entity will use a portion of its funds to combat online harassment of athletes by bitter bettors. Kindbridge will use the rest of its allocation to establish problem and responsible gambling programs to assist active military personnel and veterans in Colorado.
This round of funding followed a $1.5 million allocation for problem gambling counselor training and the creation of a problem gambling center in Colorado, among other projects.
— Mike Seely
Sightline, GeoComply celebrate new space
Digital payment provider Sightline and geolocation company GeoComply this week announced a new shared space at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research & Technology Park. The new office will house 100 employees.
The shared space will be Sightline’s global headquarters and GeoComply’s U.S. headquarters, and it’s located in the same building as UNLV’s Black Fire Innovation center.
“It is nothing short of incredible to see how Las Vegas has transformed into a tech hub since Sightline was founded a dozen years ago,” Sightline co-founder and co-CEO Omer Sattar said via press release. “Having our offices within UNLV and their Black Fire Innovation center will help ensure we have the resources necessary to continue to grow, innovate, and deliver for our clients.”
— Jill R. Dorson
More of the most important, interesting stories
WRASSLIN’ WITH ACTION: Legal betting on WWE matches tests boundaries of “sports” betting [Yahoo]
MISTAKE BY THE LAKE: Sports betting a loser for Ohio Lottery, so far [Cleveland.com]
BLUEGRASS HALL PASS: Kentucky employing fewer gambling enforcement officers than in neighboring states [WCPO]
CH, CH, CH, CH … EXCHANGES: Yahoo’s bet on Wagr may signal breakthrough for betting exchanges [JohnWallStreet]
THE LONG AND WINDING RHODE: Revenue up, handle down in Rhode Island [iGB]
DUST BOWL DUSTUP: Oklahoma tribes, governor at odds over sports betting [CDC Gaming Reports]
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