The Biggest Sports Betting and IGaming Stories Of 2024

A lot can occur in a year. And this past year, a lot took place in the legal sports betting wagering and iGaming market – and then some.

A referendum in Missouri, high-profile betting scandals, and crackdowns on an overseas sportsbook and college gamer prop wagering are just a few of the big stories of 2024. But there was much more.

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

Missouri (hardly) approves mobile sports betting wagering

Any state approving legal sports betting wagering is a huge offer. How Missouri did it – and what follows – makes it one of the year’s crucial stories.

Missouri approved retail and mobile sportsbooks by approximately 3,000 votes out of nearly three million cast. This was not simply the closest margin of any gaming-related measure this election cycle however the closest in any state since the Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban in 2018.

After evaluating the last main outcomes of every Missouri county with more than 10,000 votes this election, I can state – formally – that the sports betting ballot procedure has kept adequate assistance from Election Day tallies to pass; sportsbooks will go live in MO in 2025

Missouri ended up being the 39th state to authorize legalized sports betting and was the only one to do so this year. The market structure, which will allow upwards of a lots mobile books in addition to retail operators – plus the impassioned support in the Kansas City metro – positions Missouri to be one of the nation’s stronger per capita markets when wagering starts in summer season 2025. (Ryan Butler)

Everybody dislikes sports betting (well, kinda)

The sports betting wagering industry had a run of bad press and harsh examination 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 numerous that built up throughout the year that highlighted the simmering concerns and regrets about the company. Headlines like “Legalizing sports betting Gambling Was a Substantial Mistake” are tough to wave away.

The rough stretch for sports betting could push lawmakers and regulators to make modifications in 2025 and beyond. Operators may try to get in front of everything by making changes themselves.

At any rate, this was one of the most significant stories for the industry, showing that it wasn’t all excellent 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 stability scandals in 2024 that have actually had effects for the industry.

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 pay off financial obligations owed to a prohibited sportsbook.

Major League Baseball called Ohtani “a victim of fraud” and stated the matter closed. However, the occurrence functioned as a tip that sports betting wagering remains illegal in California, and the fallout extended all the method to Las Vegas and its regulated gaming market.

The second scandal hit the NBA, which prohibited Jontay Porter from the league after an examination discovered the previous Toronto Raptor restricted his play in games for betting functions, to name a few things. Criminal charges for Porter and his alleged co-conspirators followed.

There were consequences for gamblers also. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the matter raised concerns about “the types of bets used on our video games and gamers,” and sportsbooks have actually since stopped offering Unders on NBA gamers on two-way or 10-day contacts. (Geoff Zochodne)

The NCAA states war on college player props

NCAA president Charlie Baker’s mission to secure student-athletes from jerk sports betting bettors – I’m paraphrasing – got severe traction this previous year.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission got the ball rolling by revealing openly it was considering and then authorizing an NCAA demand to forbid “player-specific prop bets” on college sports betting events. Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont did the same. New Jersey lawmakers are considering legislation that would do the same.

College gamer prop wagering is ended up in Ohio since March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, announced today he approved the NCAA’s demand to prohibit such sports betting. Any staying futures need to be voided by next Friday. pic.twitter.com/b9MXDJmZJE

Baker has actually given that preceded a U.S. Senate committee to argue versus college gamer props. Additional bans could be enacted, even if college gamer prop wagering is just a small slice of total sports betting wagering.

Furthermore, the NBA and NCAA’s successes in restricting specific sports betting markets underscore that leagues can and might look for to tinker more with what’s on the menu at regulated sportsbooks. (Geoff Zochodne)

New York casinos delayed – once again

The most awaited East Coast casino opening in a minimum of 50 years will need to wait a while longer.

New york city policymakers did not back legislation pushed by the state’s biggest gaming advocates that would have sped up the licensing timeline for 3 downstate gambling establishments. The homes are to produce billions of dollars in yearly income (and numerous millions in taxes) in addition to licensing charges, a cash increase that will not begin until the decade’s second half.

Nearly all significant U.S. casino operators have revealed interest in these licenses in the biggest possible brand-new brick-and-mortar gaming chance given that New Jersey permitted legal gambling establishments in Atlantic City in the mid-1970s. MGM’s Yonkers home and Resorts World’s center in Queens are favorites to take two of the licenses, but the rest of the market is jockeying for position for a 3rd bid elsewhere within the five boroughs.

The prolonged process of selecting the winning bids was a significant story in 2024. It will be a a lot more significant advancement in 2025 – and perhaps 2026. (Ryan Butler)

Online casinos boom as brick-and-mortar decrease

2024 brought among the more pronounced shifts from in-person to digital gaming because the COVID-19 pandemic closed down all business casinos four years ago.

New Jersey, the veteran center of video gaming east of the Mississippi, saw iCasino earnings eclipse the overall from the nine Atlantic City gambling establishments. This shift might end up being even more remarkable when New york city (finally) opens its very first full-scale business casino residential or commercial properties.

In New Jersey and other established video gaming markets – including Nevada – brick-and-mortar gaming revenues insinuated 2024 after seeing a spike after the COVID-19 pandemic went away. Nevada has, in the meantime, no iCasino options, a hole in America’s most popular gambling market that has actually ended up being more obvious as consumer dynamics and demographics significantly move online.

Only four states have full, competitive online casino video gaming markets. But with marquee markets such as Atlantic City struggling, iGaming is set to be a much more luring choice for policymakers and an important earnings generator for gambling business. (Ryan Butler)

Ontario’s iGaming model survives and thrives

It’s in some cases simple to forget what Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is doing when it comes to online sports betting wagering and internet casino sports betting is something completely new for the nation.

Ontario is still the only province to launch a competitive iGaming market that enables numerous private-sector operators to participate. Billions are being bet and hundreds of millions in income are being generated via lots of operators and websites.

Nevertheless, till about midway through 2024, Ontario’s design had a legal cloud hanging over it in the type of a lawsuit by the Quebec-based Mohawk Council of Kahnawàhke (MCK).

Some relatively big news here for online sports betting and iGaming in Ontario, as it looks like a Superior Court judge has actually dismissed a legal challenge of the province’s online gambling model: pic.twitter.com/tJzsuOCbAT

In May, the cloud was raised after an Ontario judge dismissed the claim, finding the province was exerting adequate control over its iGaming market to satisfy the “conduct and manage” limit in Canada’s Criminal Code.

The judgment – and the MCK’s decision not to appeal – put Ontario’s iGaming model on much firmer legal ground. It likewise used motivation to any other province interested in 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 wagering, slots, and table games. Indeed, the Alberta government has actually made it clear it will follow the Ontario model carefully, albeit with particular tweaks that reflect the distinctions in gaming in the 2 provinces.

However, in the fall, Alberta’s iGaming minister stated the province was pumping the brakes on its strategies. The province decided to take more time to speak to stakeholders and gather more input before going further.

Moreover, the government intends to introduce “making it possible for” legislation in the New Year to lay the foundation for iGaming growth. While the hold-up may have dissatisfied gamers and operators, it stays just that in the meantime – a hold-up. (Geoff Zochodne)

Prediction markets nail the election

U.S. election wagering has a fascinating – and accurate – history. That was shown again as Betfair, Kalshi, Polymarket, and other election betting markets were dead-on about Donald Trump’s prospects of winning back the White House.

Current chances on Kalshi heading into Election Day

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

The accuracy of the prediction markets in particular likewise provided operators ammo against their critics. It likewise came as Kalshi continued to battle in court to keep providing political occasion contracts. That battle isn’t over, and 2025 will see more legal and regulatory arguments for election wagering. (Geoff Zochodne)

Illinois walkings taxes, DraftKings gets imaginative

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

DraftKings chose it would not take this and other big tax rates resting. The Boston-based bookie unveiled a strategy for a small surcharge on winning bets that it would enforce on players in New york city, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Illinois.

The coming DraftKings winning bet additional charge tax rate will vary by state, however in an example $DKNG provided in Illinois with a winning $10 bet at +100, the bettor received back $19.68 rather of $20 due to the tax. That would roughly translate to a chances shift from +100 to -104.

It was a strong 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 reevaluated and a small one being considered by Michigan. With the 2025 legislative season looming, we’ll see where legislators go next. (Geoff Zochodne)

The Bovada C&D bonanza

Bovada has actually long been extensively available in the U.S. However, this past year, regulators from legal gaming states discovered the art of letter-writing and peppered the Curacao-based sportsbook and casino with cease-and-desist requests.

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

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

Florida sports betting wagering’s Supreme accomplishment

Like in Ontario, the sports betting wagering status quo in Florida had some legal question marks coming into 2024. Before the year was over, those questions would be answered in such a way that has guaranteed the Seminole Tribe and Acid rock Bet remain in control in the Sunshine State.

In March, the Supreme Court of Florida threw out an obstacle to the state’s sports betting setup. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a federal legal difficulty.

The 2 decisions implied the legal monopoly over legal sports betting in Florida stayed in place. Acid rock now takes pleasure in among the greatest markets in the U.S.