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CASINO & GAMES
LEGALISING IGAMING IN THE UNITED STATES IS HARD – AND HERE ’ S WHY
As legislatures across the US wound down in late spring and early summer , 2024 marked the first year since 2018 when no US jurisdiction legalised sports betting . In addition , no US jurisdiction added igaming , and little progress was made in determining how to make igaming appealing enough to politicians to pass it . So , asks Jill Dorson , what ’ s the hold up ?
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P assing igaming legislation in the US is hard !”
Ain ’ t that the truth . Gambling stakeholders and lawmakers enter every new legislative season full of enthusiasm and hope , yet more than six years after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act ( PASPA ) was overturned by the US Supreme Court , seven US jurisdictions are currently offering legal online casino compared to 32 offering online sports betting and 40 offering legal wagering overall .
Lawmakers in Georgia , Minnesota and Missouri met the same roadblocks as in previous years , each failing to legalise sports betting . What stakeholders viewed ahead of the sessions as the best hope for new legal online gambling market died in Maryland in April .
The canned answers for what makes legalising online casino so hard are many and varied . Fear of addiction . Concerns that online casino will cannibalise brickand-mortar venues . The belief that states don ’ t need the money just yet .
But there may be a specific reason why the idea of online casino isn ’ t gaining traction . And it ’ s one that has nothing to do with what ’ s going inside state houses across the country .
IS THERE ANY UPSIDE FOR SMALLER PLAYERS ?
“ I don ’ t think it ’ s really a legislative issue at this point ,” Howard Glaser , global head of government affairs and legislative counsel at Light & Wonder told iGB earlier this year . “ It ’ s really a question of the market dynamics and , increasingly , if you are a land-based casino not named MGM or Caesars , you may think you won ’ t see a lot of upside to online gambling because of a belief that you cannot compete .
“ Then you have the domination of DraftKings and FanDuel with 80 % of market share [ in both digital sports betting and casino ]. So , if you are a midsized or regional player , you have to ask yourself ‘ What is my role or am I going to be left out ?’”
Craig Billings , the CEO of Wynn Resorts , which just happens to be one
iGB L ! VE 2024 • ISSUE 136 • 21