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Virginia has made first solid indications that it is ready to get on the sports betting bandwagon as the practice is cementing itself as the hottest US gambling industry topic. Local news outlet the Virginia Mercury reported on Tuesday that two state lawmakers have announced plans to introduce sports betting bills during the Virginia Legislature’s 2019 session, which starts in January.
State Sen. Chap Petersen revealed yesterday that he would introduce a legislation to legalize wagering as part of a plan to reduce tuition fees at Virginia’s community colleges. Under his bill, titled Virginia Sports Gaming Tuition Reduction Act, state cities and counties would have to hold a referendum in order to decide whether they want sports betting services to be provided on their territories.
Betting on college games would not be allowed under Sen. Petersen’s piece. Tax revenue from legal wagering services would be split between localities and the state’s community college system, it became known on Tuesday.
Another Virginia legislator said yesterday that he would table a sports betting bill once the new legislative session is under way. Del. Mark Sickles explained that under his piece, legal sports betting would be taxed at 15% on revenue. According to initial estimates, wagering services could generate up to $41 million. The money would be used to fund research activities at Virginia’s universities.
Under Del. Sickles’ bill, the Virginia Lottery would be tasked with regulating and overseeing the state’s sports gambling industry. There will be five sports betting licenses for grabs, if that particular legislative piece is enacted. Del. Sickles’ proposal would ban wagering on Virginia college and university games, but would allow “wagering on collegiate athletic tournaments in the commonwealth if allowed by the sporting league.”
Commenting on his plan to introduce a sports betting bill, Sen. Petersen said in a Tuesday statement that he sees no reason why betting should be kept illegal when neighboring states are “already moving to legalize.” West Virginia went live with legal sports wagering in August, while North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky lawmakers are all expected to discuss the matter next year.
In a separate statement, Del. Sickles said yesterday that with his legislation, he aims to provide a “framework for an open, transparent, and responsible market for legal sports betting.”
A Handful of Gambling-Related Topics to Be Discussed
Bearing the above in mind, Virginia could certainly become a target for a concerted effort for the legalization of sports gambling. Companies like DraftKings and FanDuel have already gained foothold in Virginia with their daily fantasy sports product, but they have also been expanding their sports betting operations across the states where the practice is legal to secure a chunk of the lucrative wagering market. As a result, they can have a particularly smooth entry into Virginia when and if the state moves to legalize sports gambling.
It should also be noted that sports betting would not be the only gambling-related topic to be discussed in the Virginia General Assembly next year. A business group in Bristol is lobbying for the legalization of casino gambling in the state in order to be able to build a $150-million casino resort at the site of the vacated Bristol Mall, arguing that a development of this kind would have a “transformative” impact on the city, the region, and the state as a whole.
And while the Virginia Legislature has traditionally been against any form of gambling expansion in the state, it seems that following the latest gambling developments around the nation, it might have adopted a little bit more relaxed stance on betting and casino gaming.
Earlier this year, lawmakers authorized the new owner of the shuttered Colonial Downs racetrack to add historical horse racing machines at the property as well as at up to ten off-track betting facilities around the state.
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The post Virginia Legislature to Open Sports Betting Legalization Debate Next Year appeared first on Casino News Daily.
According to brokerage Nomura, the casino operator will increase its share of the city’s market despite an overal GGR contraction in Macau.
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A Clark County District Court Judge has temporarily blocked the release of a report by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission into sexual misconduct allegations leveled against former casino boss Steve Wynn, a court official said on Monday.
The Massachusetts gaming regulator opened a probe into Mr. Wynn and Wynn Resorts, the company he had found, shortly after the publication of a report by the Wall Street Journal back in January, detailing an alleged decades-long sexual misconduct pattern by the embattled businessman. The investigation aimed to discover whether Wynn Resorts had any knowledge of the allegations raised against its former boss, how it had responded to those allegations, and whether it was suitable to be the holder of one of the state’s commercial casino licenses.
Wynn Resorts is currently building the $2.4-billion Encore Boston Harbor integrated resort in the Greater Boston area. The hotel and casino complex is scheduled to be launched next summer, although the latest developments may delay its opening.
Mr. Wynn’s attorneys filed two motions in the Clark County District Court earlier this month, seeking to block the release of MassGaming’s report. The businessman’s legal team argued that Wynn Resorts had communicated privileged information about its former boss to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. According to the motion, the information provided included communication protected by “Mr. Wynn’s attorney-client privilege and/or the common interest agreements he entered with Wynn Resorts.”
Judge Wants to Hear Arguments about the Contents of MassGaming’s Report
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission planned to release the findings of its probe in December, but it seems that it will have to do that at a later date, or it might even not be allowed to do that, if Judge Gonzalez sides with Mr. Wynn.
According to Massachusetts and MassGaming attorneys, the Clark County Court Judge lacks jurisdiction to rule on whether the Massachusetts gaming regulator is exercising oversight in a proper manner. They also pointed out in a court filing from last Friday that the ongoing legal argument will “almost certainly” delay the opening of Encore Boston Harbor, which will in turn delay “4,500 full-time job opportunities” and would deprive Massachusetts of millions of dollars in monthly tax revenue.
Encore Boston Harbor will be the state’s second integrated resort with a full-blown casino. Under original plans, the property was called Wynn Boston Harbor, but Wynn Resorts decided to replace Wynn with Encore, another popular brand owned by the company, to distance itself from the sexual misconduct scandal. As mentioned earlier, the luxury complex, currently under construction along the Mystic River in Everett, was scheduled to swing its doors open in the summer of 2019.
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The post Nevada Judge Temporarily Blocks Release of MassGaming Probe into Steve Wynn Sexual Misconduct Allegations appeared first on Casino News Daily.
The casino resumed operations after it had closed for two days due to Tryphoon Yutu.
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Sports betting kicked off in West Virginia with the start of the NFL season and more and more state casinos have been opening sportsbooks to claim their share of a market many seem to be extremely bullish of.
However, while Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack has already confirmed that it will join the sports betting mix, it is still unknown when exactly this will happen. The venue was first expected to launch its wagering operations by the end of September. Owner Delaware North then announced that it has decided to delay the start of sports betting at the property as well as at its other West Virginia casino – Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro.
The latest round of sports betting news from the state have brought the important piece of information that while it is still unclear when Wheeling Island Casino will go live with wagering, owners are striving to make that happen within the ongoing NFL season and that testing has already begun at the property.
It has also become known that one of the main reasons for the delayed start of betting is the development of a mobile app that would allow West Virginians to wager on sports from wherever they want on the territory of the state.
Owners have told local media that since mobile betting has not been done yet in the state, they want to do it right. Kim Florence, President and General Manager at the property, told local media outlets that figuring out how the technology works is really important to them.
There is no official date for the launch of sports betting, both physical and mobile, at Wheeling Island Casino, but the venue’s General Manager said that will happen soon.
How Is Sports Betting Going in West Virginia?
West Virginia legalized wagering on professional and college sporting events this past spring, ahead of the May 14 ruling of the US Supreme Court that allowed states to individually legalize and regulate sports betting, if they felt so inclined to do so.
With Hollywood Casino commencing sports betting operations, the state became the fourth one to offer a legal wagering product. According to figures released by the West Virginia Lottery Commission, the state’s sportsbooks handled around $10 million in wagers during the first six weeks since launch and generated revenue of more than $2.3 million.
Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort is set to add wagering to its existing operations on Wednesday with the opening of its sportsbook. It has also become clear earlier this month that testing has commenced at Mardi Gras Casino, Wheeling Island Casino’s sister property.
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