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A lot can take place in a year. And this past year, a lot took place in the legal sports betting wagering and iGaming industry - and after that some.

A referendum in Missouri, high-profile betting scandals, and crackdowns on an offshore sportsbook and college player prop betting are just a few of the huge stories of 2024. But there was far more.

So, to refresh our readers' memories (in addition to our own), Covers decided once again to round up the leading stories of the year. The slow news days were rare, as you'll soon see.

Missouri (barely) authorizes mobile sports betting

Any state authorizing legal sports wagering is a huge offer. How Missouri did it - and what comes next - makes it one of the year's essential stories.

Missouri authorized retail and mobile sportsbooks by roughly 3,000 votes out of nearly three million cast. This was not simply the closest margin of any gaming-related step this election cycle however the closest in any state given that the Supreme Court struck down the federal wagering restriction in 2018.
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After evaluating the last official outcomes of every Missouri county with more than 10,000 votes this election, I can state - officially - that the sports betting wagering tally procedure has kept sufficient assistance from Election Day tallies to pass; sportsbooks will go reside in MO in 2025

Missouri became the 39th state to authorize legalized sports betting wagering and was the only one to do so this year. The market structure, which will allow upwards of a dozen mobile books as well as retail operators - plus the fervent assistance in the Kansas City metro - positions Missouri to be among the country's more powerful per capita markets when wagering starts in summer 2025. (Ryan Butler)

Everybody hates sports betting wagering (well, kinda)

The sports betting market had a run of bad press and extreme analysis to liquidate 2024, culminating in a U.S. Senate committee hearing that saw a lot of grievances aired.

This wasn't just one story, however lots of that built up throughout the year that highlighted the simmering issues and regrets about business. Headlines like "Legalizing sports betting Gambling Was a Big Mistake" are tough to wave away.

The rough stretch for sports betting could embolden legislators and regulators to make modifications in 2025 and beyond. Operators might attempt to get in front of everything by making changes themselves.

At any rate, this was among the most significant stories for the market, showing that it wasn't all good news. (Geoff Zochodne)

The Ohtani/Porter scandals

Speaking of criticism, the worlds of sports betting and sports betting wagering were rocked by two high-profile integrity scandals in 2024 that have actually had effects for the industry.
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The very first involved baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, whose previous interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to criminal charges after stealing millions from the Los Angeles Dodger to settle debts owed to a prohibited sportsbook.

Major League Baseball called Ohtani "a victim of fraud" and declared the matter closed. However, the occurrence acted as a reminder that sports betting wagering remains prohibited in California, and the fallout extended all the method to Las Vegas and its regulated gaming industry.

The 2nd scandal hit the NBA, which prohibited Jontay Porter from the league after an examination found the former Toronto Raptor limited his play in games for wagering purposes, among other things. Criminal charges for Porter and his supposed co-conspirators followed.

There were consequences for wagerers also. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the matter raised issues about "the kinds of bets offered on our video games and gamers," and sportsbooks have considering that stopped offering Unders on NBA gamers on two-way or 10-day contacts. (Geoff Zochodne)

The NCAA declares war on college gamer props

NCAA president Charlie Baker's mission to secure student-athletes from jerk sports betting bettors - I'm paraphrasing - buckled down traction this past year.

The Ohio Casino Commission got the ball rolling by announcing openly it was thinking about and then authorizing an NCAA demand to prohibit "player-specific prop bets" on college sports betting events. Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont followed match. New Jersey lawmakers are pondering legislation that would do the exact same.

College gamer prop wagering is ended up in Ohio as of March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, revealed today he authorized the NCAA's request to prohibit such betting. Any remaining futures must be voided by next Friday. pic.twitter.com/b9MXDJmZJE

Baker has since gone before a U.S. Senate committee to argue versus college player props. Additional bans could be enacted, even if college player prop betting is only a small slice of total sports betting.

Furthermore, the NBA and NCAA's successes in restricting specific betting markets underscore that leagues can and might seek to play more with what's on the menu at managed sportsbooks. (Geoff Zochodne)

New york city gambling establishments delayed - once again

The most awaited East Coast gambling establishment opening in at least 50 years will have to wait a while longer.

New york city policymakers did not back legislation pushed by the state's biggest video gaming supporters that would have accelerated the licensing timeline for three downstate casinos. The residential or commercial properties are expected to produce billions of dollars in yearly earnings (and numerous millions in taxes) in addition to licensing fees, a money influx that will not start till the years's second half.

Nearly all major U.S. casino operators have expressed interest in these licenses in the most significant prospective new brick-and-mortar video gaming opportunity since New Jersey allowed legal casinos in Atlantic City in the mid-1970s. MGM's Yonkers home and Resorts World's facility in Queens are favorites to take two of the licenses, however the rest of the market is jockeying for position for a 3rd quote elsewhere within the five boroughs.

The prolonged procedure of choosing the winning bids was a significant story in 2024. It will be a much more considerable advancement in 2025 - and perhaps 2026. (Ryan Butler)

Online casinos boom as brick-and-mortar decrease

2024 brought among the more noticable shifts from in-person to digital gaming given that the COVID-19 pandemic closed down all industrial casinos four years back.

New Jersey, the long-time center of gaming east of the Mississippi, saw iCasino income eclipse the overall from the nine Atlantic City gambling establishments. This shift could become even more significant when New york city (lastly) opens its very first major business gambling establishment properties.

In New Jersey and other established gaming markets - consisting of Nevada - brick-and-mortar gaming revenues insinuated 2024 after seeing a spike after the COVID-19 pandemic diminished. Nevada has, for now, no iCasino options, a hole in America's most popular gaming market that has ended up being more apparent as customer dynamics and demographics progressively shift online.
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Only four states have full, competitive online casino gaming markets. But with marquee markets such as Atlantic City having a hard time, iGaming is set to be an even more enticing option for policymakers and a crucial income generator for betting business. (Ryan Butler)

Ontario's iGaming model survives and grows
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It's in some cases easy to forget what Ontario, Canada's most populous province, is doing when it comes to online sports betting and internet casino gambling is something entirely brand-new for the nation.

Ontario is still the only province to introduce a competitive iGaming market that enables multiple private-sector operators to take part. Billions are being bet and hundreds of millions in earnings are being generated via dozens of operators and sites.

Nevertheless, until about midway through 2024, Ontario's model had a legal cloud hanging over it in the kind of a suit by the Quebec-based Mohawk Council of Kahnawàhke (MCK).

Some relatively huge news here for online sports betting wagering and iGaming in Ontario, as it looks like a Superior Court judge has actually dismissed a legal challenge of the province's online gambling design: pic.twitter.com/tJzsuOCbAT
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In May, the cloud was lifted after an Ontario judge dismissed the lawsuit, discovering the province was exerting adequate control over its iGaming market to meet the "conduct and handle" limit in Canada's Criminal Code.

The ruling - and the MCK's choice not to appeal - put Ontario's iGaming design on much firmer legal ground. It likewise used motivation to any other province thinking about introducing a comparable market. (Geoff Zochodne)

Alberta pushes back iGaming market launch

Alberta is one such province thinking about releasing an Ontario-like market for online sports betting, slots, and table games. Indeed, the Alberta federal government has made it clear it will follow the Ontario model carefully, albeit with particular tweaks that show the differences in gaming in the two provinces.

However, in the fall, Alberta's iGaming minister said the province was pumping the brakes on its strategies. The province decided to take more time to talk with stakeholders and collect more input before going even more.

Moreover, the government plans to introduce "enabling" legislation in the New Year to prepare for iGaming expansion. While the hold-up might have dissatisfied gamers and operators, it remains simply that for now - a delay. (Geoff Zochodne)

Prediction markets nail the election

U.S. election betting has an interesting - and accurate - history. That was shown once again as Betfair, Kalshi, Polymarket, and other election betting markets were dead-on about Donald Trump's prospects of recovering the White House.

Current chances on Kalshi heading into Election Day

Trump: 57%. Harris: 43% pic.twitter.com/xQiRPE2wbO

The accuracy of the forecast markets in particular also gave operators ammunition against their critics. It likewise came as Kalshi continued to fight in court to keep using political event contracts. That battle isn't over, and 2025 will see more legal and regulative arguments for election betting. (Geoff Zochodne)

Illinois hikes taxes, DraftKings gets imaginative

Illinois has actually turned into one of the more robust markets for legal sports betting wagering in the U.S., however legislators threw a wrench into the works this year by hiking the state's tax rate to as high as 40% for operators.

DraftKings decided it would not take this and other big tax rates resting. The Boston-based bookmaker revealed a prepare for a small additional charge on winning bets that it would enforce on gamers in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Illinois.

The coming DraftKings winning bet surcharge tax rate will vary by state, however in an example $DKNG gave in Illinois with a winning $10 bet at +100, the wagerer got back $19.68 instead of $20 due to the tax. That would approximately translate to an odds shift from +100 to -104.

It was a bold relocation, but DraftKings reversed course after FanDuel and other rivals declined to do the very same.

DraftKings and others are still coming to grips with those greater tax rates, consisting of a previous hike by Ohio that is currently being reconsidered and a slight one being contemplated by Michigan. With the 2025 legal season looming, we'll see where lawmakers go next. (Geoff Zochodne)

The Bovada C&D treasure trove
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Bovada has long been extensively readily available in the U.S. However, this previous year, regulators from legal gaming states found the art of letter-writing and peppered the Curacao-based sportsbook and gambling establishment with cease-and-desist requests.

As a result, Bovada's U.S. footprint has actually diminished. The business says it has restricted access to clients in more than a dozen states. That list could grow.

The concern for the New Year is if extra states will lean on Bovada and/or its overseas sportsbook brethren. The Bovada C&D blueprint might likewise provide some concepts to lawmakers and operators that have a growing interest in sweepstakes gambling establishments and sportsbooks. (Geoff Zochodne)

Florida sports betting wagering's Supreme triumph

Like in Ontario, the sports betting status quo in Florida had some legal question marks entering 2024. Before the year was over, those concerns would be answered in a way that has actually ensured the Seminole Tribe and Hard Rock Bet stay in control in the Sunshine State.

In March, the Supreme Court of Florida threw away an obstacle to the state's sports wagering setup. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a federal legal obstacle.

The 2 choices implied the legal monopoly over legal sports betting wagering in Florida stayed in location. Hard Rock now takes pleasure in one of the greatest markets in the U.S.