
Olympic betting will return to Las Vegas following a hiatus that is 15-year a move expected to bring vast amounts in revenues to casinos and bookmakers.
Olympic gambling in Nevada will return for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro after the state’s Gaming Control Board unanimously approved an amendment throughout a special meeting week that is last.
The modification to its gaming regulations permits bookmakers to put betting lines on any event that is athletic by the International Olympic Committee, with one stipulation being that A.G. Burnett, chairman of the video gaming board, has got the authority to remove any contest from betting task.
Vegas sports books wasted no time in posting odds that are initial. Just minutes after the board’s choice, William Hill US place Usain Bolt as a -200 favorite for the men’s 100m, and the US basketball group as a whopping -320 favorite.
‘With more than two out of each and every three Americans having watched the London Olympics in 2012, the games in Rio have the prospective to make a sizable impact in August of 2016, like we saw last June because of the World Cup,’ William Hill CEO Joe Asher stated. ‘We look ahead to continually expanding our menu that is olympic in next 18 months prior to the games.’
Betting on Amateurs?
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) successfully led a ban in 2001 to prohibit all sports betting on amateur tournaments and events that are athletic. Although the Olympics began being a competition among amateurs, the majority of participants today are professional athletes with substantial sponsorship deals, regularly competing in national sporting leagues and federations.
After all, it’s really a tough argument to 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 summer that is typically slow gambling months. With baseball being the only sport that is major the US in season, bookies are excited to truly have the Olympics back their arsenal for 2016.
‘ This will be a thing that is good the industry and will help drive company 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 the last five years with a record-setting $3.9 billion in bets in 2014, an increase of 7.7 per cent 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 due to its hosting in Brazil, nation with time areas differing less than one hour from America.
The 2012 London Olympics was the most-watched television occasion in the real history of the United States. A lot more than 219 million Americans watched the games, and thinking about the substantial time huge difference, insiders think the record won’t last long. Many viewers struggled watching ‘live’ events which were taped hours earlier.
With only a time that is five-hour between Vegas and Rio, gambling activity will probably surge for the 2016 Olympics as Nevadans should be able to see the events in genuine time.
Getting a slice of the pie that is multibillion-dollar something odds makers are excited to receive, as they missed away 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 mightn’t place a bet here,’ Singleton stated.
New Gambling Overhaul Bill Presented In Florida
Republican frontrunner Dana Young has introduced a bill that could enable two resort casinos in Southern Florida. (Image: floridapolitics.com)
Florida’s gambling industry has been in desperate need of an overhaul, as a mish-mash of various rules and regulations have created an uncertain situation for operators and legislators alike.
Now, a brand new package of legislation from House Republican Leader Dana Young (R-Tampa) would seek to update gaming laws in the state in order to produce something that everybody in Florida can (hopefully) live with.
Major Resort Gambling Enterprises Is Welcome in South Florida
Perhaps the addition that is biggest under Young’s legislation is the two destination resort casinos that could be allowed in South Florida. This really is something that major gaming businesses, including Genting therefore the Las Vegas Sands, have been pushing for in circumstances that currently just allows complete casino gambling to be offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The new resort operators, however, could be required to purchase gaming licenses from active operators such as for example race tracks so that you can build their facilities.
The bill would also give assistance to the pari-mutuel operators in Southern Florida. Puppy tracks would be allowed to use slots regardless if they do maybe not continue steadily to race dogs, an activity which includes lost popularity and is increasingly used only as a justification for operating gaming machines. Tax prices would additionally be paid off for casinos.
The bill would also produce a state gambling commission to oversee the video gaming industry in Florida. The proposal also asks to produce a constitutional amendment that would prohibit all new types of gambling in Florida unless voters were willing to approve it via a referendum that is statewide.
‘Under the scenario presented in my bill, Florida takes back control of existing gaming in our state and provide a blueprint that is clear the trail it’s going to consume the future,’ Young stated at a news seminar. ‘The bill provides for a contraction that is unprecedented of in the state.’
Opponents See Bill as Gambling Expansion
However, not everyone agreed with that assessment. In fact, one or more opponent said that rather than contract gaming, younger’s bill would open the doors to wider gambling through the entire state.
‘ This bill would cause the biggest expansion of gambling in Florida history,’ said No gambling enterprises manager John Sowinski. ‘It invites wall surface to wall surface casino gambling in Florida, plus the social expenses and crime that go with it.’
No gambling enterprises is a group backed by Florida’s entertainment industry, including operators like Disney and Universal. They also noticed that with casinos in some other elements of the country struggling, adding more casinos in Florida may not be the profitable move that supporters claim it would be.
But, the bill does not include much in the real means of conditions such as the Seminoles. Right now, the Seminoles operate the Seminole rough Rock Hotel & Casino as well as other venues under a tight with the state that is defined to expire on July 31. Now, the Seminole Tribe pays the state over $200 million each year for exclusive legal rights to blackjack inside the state.
Governor Rick Scott spent time year that is last with the tribe, and nearly reached a seven-year renewal associated with compact, however the two sides couldn’t finalize an agreement.
‘We are definitely available to continuing dialogue with the tribe as to how they fit into the larger picture,’ younger said. ‘ But since there’s no agreement at this true point, we now have not included them in this bill.’
Bidding Reopened For Southern Tier Casino In Ny
Gaming Facility Location Board chair Kevin Law claims the board is hoping for more competition into the tier bidding process that is southern. (Image: yogonet.com)
The New York casino bidding process isn’t over just quite yet. As anticipated, the Gaming Facility venue Board decided on Friday to reopen the putting in a bid for the casino into the Southern Tier region, again allowing the possibility that a 4th casino license could possibly be awarded in the state.
Based on board chairman Kevin Law, it is anticipated that the concluding decision on whether or perhaps not to approve a casino for the location should come by come early july.
New Round of Bidding Was Anticipated
The move was an expected one. All things considered, Governor Andrew Cuomo wrote the board myself later this past year in order to inquire of it to give the Southern Tier another chance to come up with new proposals that they might be willing to accept.
People of the board have also talked publically about how exactly there is no genuine harm in reopening the procedure: if you haven’t a new proposition which they like, they could always say they need to stick with just the three casinos which are currently set to be built in upstate brand new York.
On the other hand, if someone measures up to wow the board, they might get the license that eluded the area the very first time around.
‘we are hoping that there surely is going to be competition, Law said. ‘We just got three bids for the whole combined region for the very first time around, so to expect numbers larger than that is probably unrealistic, but you never know.’
New Report Outlines Selection Process
On the same days that this decision ended up being reached, the board also circulated a report that is nearly 800-page outlined exactly why the 3 winning bidders were chosen, and while the other 13 projects had been rejected.
Possibly the most battle that is interesting invest the Hudson Valley/Catskills region, where even major gambling businesses like Caesars and Genting were interesting in placing a casino in Orange County given its proximity to New York City.
However, all associated with the Orange County proposals were refused; instead, the Montreign Resort Casino in Thompson, in the heart of Sullivan County and the Catskills, was the winning bidder.
The newly-released report explains how a committee came to that decision. The board was willing to concede that a casino in Orange County would have been extremely lucrative, given how people live in and around New York City and the fact that 50 million tourists see the region every year.
However, placing a casino in Orange County would have really harmed the prospects of any casino placed further north in the Catskills. That has been an issue, as the Catskills was seen being an part of even more financial need that could really use the stimulus that the casino task might provide.
Montreign was chosen over other casinos in the Catskills for various reasons. a competing mohegan sun proposal in Thompson was considered too small, while the Nevele in Ellenville was discounted since it don’t add entertainment options beyond gambling.
The report also offered some insight into why the absolute most promising bid in the Southern Tier, the Tioga Downs proposition, was rejected. According to the board, the plan lacked ‘a cohesive site layout and design.’
The board also used the report to once again reiterate their thinking for not initially selecting the most of four upstate casinos. The major reason came down to the fact regional competition has made oversaturation a real danger, and that the board desired to ensure the 3 casinos that had been chosen could have enough customers to succeed.