
Olympic betting will get back to Las Vegas after a hiatus that is 15-year a move anticipated to bring millions of dollars in revenues to casinos and bookmakers.
Olympic betting in Nevada will get back for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro after the state’s Gaming Control Board unanimously approved an amendment during a special meeting last week.
The modification to its gaming regulations enables bookmakers to spot betting lines on any event that is athletic by the International Olympic Committee, with one stipulation being that A.G. Burnett, chairman of the gaming board, gets the authority to eliminate any competition from betting activity.
Las Vegas recreations books wasted almost no time in publishing odds that are initial. Just mins after the board’s choice, William Hill US put Usain Bolt being a -200 favorite for the males’s 100m, additionally the US basketball team as a whopping -320 favorite.
‘With more than two out of every three Americans having watched the London Olympics in 2012, the games in Rio have the prospective to produce an impact that is sizable August of 2016, like we saw last June aided by the World Cup,’ William Hill CEO Joe Asher said. ‘We look ahead to continually expanding our Olympic menu within the next titanic slot machine tips 18 months leading up to the games.’
Betting on Amateurs?
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) successfully led a ban in 2001 to prohibit all sports betting on amateur competitions and athletic events. Although the Olympics began being a competition among beginners, the majority of participants today are professional athletes with substantial sponsorship deals, regularly competing in national sporting leagues and federations.
After all, it’s a argument that is tough defend Michael Phelps, Alex Morgan, LeBron James, Usain Bolt, Lolo Jones, and Lindsey Vonn as ‘amateur athletes.’
The ban has long troubled Las Vegas throughout the typically slow summer recreations gambling months. With baseball being the only major sport in the usa in season, bookies are excited to have the Olympics back in their arsenal for 2016.
‘ This will be a thing that is good the industry and helps drive business during what sometimes can be a sluggish period for the books,’ CG Technology VP Quinton Singleton remarked.
Continued Growth
Sports wagering has been on the rise for each of days gone by 5 years with a record-setting $3.9 billion in wagers in 2014, an increase of 7.7 percent from 2013. The World Cup had an impact that is tremendous exceeded many forecasts. Interest in soccer, while typically lower in the US than other countries, spiked likely because of its hosting in Brazil, country with time areas differing less than one hour from America.
The 2012 London Olympics was the most-watched television event in the annals of the United States. A lot more than 219 million Us citizens watched the games, and thinking about the time that is substantial, insiders think the record won’t last very long. Many audiences struggled watching ‘live’ events which were taped hours earlier.
With only a time that is five-hour between Vegas and Rio, betting activity will probably surge for the 2016 Olympics as Nevadans should be able to view the events in real time.
Getting a slice of that pie that is multibillion-dollar something chances manufacturers are excited to receive, as they missed out in 2012. ‘You’d have people coming over from the UK, where it ended up being legal to bet on the Olympics, and wondering why they couldn’t place a bet right here,’ Singleton said.
New Gambling Overhaul Bill Presented In Florida
Republican leader Dana Young has introduced a bill that could allow for two resort casinos in South Florida. (Image: floridapolitics.com)
Florida’s gambling industry has been in hopeless need of an overhaul, as a mish-mash of different laws and regulations have created a situation that is uncertain operators and legislators alike.
Now, a package that is new of from House Republican Leader Dana Young (R-Tampa) would seek to update gaming laws into the state in order to create a system that everyone else in Florida can (hopefully) live with.
Major Resort Casinos Could Be Greeting in South Florida
Probably the addition that is biggest under Young’s legislation would be the two destination resort casinos that could be allowed in South Florida. This might be something that major video gaming companies, including Genting and also the Las Vegas Sands, have been pushing for in a situation that currently only allows casino that is full to be offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The new resort operators, however, would be required to purchase gaming licenses from active operators such as for example race tracks in order to build their facilities.
The bill would also give assistance to the pari-mutuel operators in South Florida. Dog songs would be allowed to use slots even in the event they are doing not continue to race dogs, an activity which includes lost popularity and is increasingly used only as a justification for operating gaming devices. Tax prices would be reduced for also casinos.
The bill would also produce a state gambling commission to oversee the video gaming industry in Florida. The proposal also asks to create a constitutional amendment that would prohibit all new types of gambling in Florida unless voters were willing to accept it via a statewide referendum.
‘Under the scenario presented in my bill, Florida takes back control of existing gaming in our state and provide a clear blueprint for the path it’s going to take in the future,’ younger stated at a news meeting. ‘The bill provides for a contraction that is unprecedented of in the state.’
Opponents See Bill as Gambling Expansion
Nevertheless, not everyone agreed with that assessment. In fact, at least one opponent said that rather than contract gaming, Young’s bill would open the hinged doors to wider gambling through the state.
‘ This bill would cause the expansion that is biggest of gambling in Florida history,’ said No Casinos manager John Sowinski. ‘It invites wall to wall surface casino gambling in Florida, plus the costs that are social crime that go with it.’
No gambling enterprises is a group backed by Florida’s activity industry, including operators like Disney and Universal. Additionally they noticed that with casinos in some other parts of the country struggling, adding more casinos in Florida is probably not the move that is lucrative supporters claim it could be.
Nevertheless, the bill doesn’t contain much in the real way of conditions like the Seminoles. Right now, the Seminoles run the Seminole tough Rock Hotel & Casino along with other venues under a compact with the state that is scheduled to expire on July 31. At this time, the Seminole Tribe pays the state over $200 million each 12 months for exclusive liberties to blackjack in the state.
Governor Rick Scott spent time this past year negotiating with the tribe, and nearly reached a seven-year renewal associated with compact, however the two sides could not finalize an agreement.
‘We are definitely available to continuing dialogue with the tribe as to the way they fit in the bigger picture,’ Young said. ‘ But since there’s no agreement as of this point, we’ve not included them in this bill.’
Bidding Reopened For Southern Tier Casino In New York
Gaming Facility Location Board chair Kevin Law says the board is hoping to get more competition in the Southern Tier bidding process. (Image: yogonet.com)
The ny casino bidding process isn’t over just quite yet. As anticipated, the Gaming Facility venue Board decided on Friday to reopen the bidding for the casino within the Southern Tier region, yet again allowing the possibility that a casino that is fourth could possibly be awarded in the state.
In accordance with board chairman Kevin Law, it is anticipated that a decision that is final whether or not to accept a casino for the spot should come by this summer.
New Round of Bidding Was Anticipated
The move was an expected one. Another chance to come up with new proposals that they might be willing to approve after all, Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote the board personally late last year in order to ask it to give the Southern Tier.
People of the board have also spoken publically about how there isn’t any genuine harm in reopening the method: when there isn’t a new proposal they can always say they want to stick with only the three casinos that are currently set to be built in upstate New York that they like.
The first time around on the other hand, if someone steps up to wow the board, they might get the license that eluded the region.
‘We’re hoping that there is likely to be competition, Law said. ‘We just got three bids for the entire combined region for initial time around, so to expect numbers larger than that is probably impractical, but you never know.’
Brand New Report Outlines Selection Process
On a single days that this choice ended up being reached, the board also circulated a report that is nearly 800-page outlined exactly why the three winning bidders were chosen, and while the other 13 projects were rejected.
Maybe the most interesting battle took place in the Hudson Valley/Catskills region, where also major gambling organizations like Caesars and Genting were interesting in placing a casino in Orange County given its proximity to nyc.
However, all associated with the Orange County proposals were refused; instead, the Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson, into the heart of Sullivan County and the Catskills, was the bidder that is winning.
The report that is newly-released how a committee found that decision. The board was willing to concede that a casino in Orange County could have been extremely lucrative, given exactly how lots of people reside in and around New York City and the fact that 50 million tourists see the area every 12 months.
But, putting a casino in Orange County would have really harmed the prospects of any casino placed north that is further the Catskills. That was a challenge, since the Catskills was seen being an area of a lot more economic need that could truly use the stimulus that the casino project might offer.
Montreign was chosen over other gambling enterprises in the Catskills for different reasons. a competing mohegan sun proposal in Thompson was considered too small, while the Nevele in Ellenville was reduced since it didn’t add entertainment options beyond gambling.
The report also offered some understanding into why probably the most promising bid in the Southern Tier, the Tioga Downs proposal, was rejected. Based on the board, the master plan lacked ‘a cohesive site design and layout.’
The board also used the report to once again reiterate their reasoning for not initially selecting the utmost of four upstate casinos. The major reason came down to the fact local competition has made oversaturation a real danger, and that the board desired to ensure the 3 casinos that were chosen could have enough customers to become successful.
