Spin Cycle: Social Norms, Surprise Launches Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

SPGA cracks the code

Social and sweepstakes gaming operators don’t have formal regulations they’re required to follow in the U.S., so in lieu of such strict guidelines, the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA) is implementing the next-best thing: a code of conduct.

The SPGA announced Monday that it would be soon be issuing a code of conduct for members of the trade group, with four “foundational pillars” expected of all operators:

• Age verification to limit purchases to users 18 and older
• Proper identity verification (Know Your Customer, or KYC) 
• Location verification of customers 
• Anti-money laundering (AML) policies to ensure proper transaction monitoring

“The pillars of the SPGA code of conduct highlight the technology and processes already in place at most social sweeps operators to ensure that the millions of adults who enjoy these games do so in a safe and reliable environment,” SPGA spokesperson Camilla Wright of Red Knot Communications said in the release. “The standards of the code of conduct go above and beyond the accepted best practices for traditional social casinos.”

How enforceable is a “code of conduct”? That’s an open question. But if it’s a choice between Wild West rules and a set of basic, agreed-upon minimum standards, the latter would seem preferable for the long-term sustainability of social/sweeps gaming.

Say hello to Hollywood

PENN Entertainment has launched its standalone Hollywood Casino app in Pennsylvania ahead of schedule, getting the iCasino on people’s phones in Q4 2024 after predicting on a recent earnings call that it would arrive in Q1 2025. The state with which PENN (kinda) shares its name is the first for this new version of Hollywood Casino, and rollouts in New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Ontario are expected to follow.

The Hollywood Casino library includes more than 700 games — slots, table games, and live dealer games — many of which are original titles from PENN’s in-house casino game development studio.

The launch comes at a critical time for PENN, which launched ESPN Bet on Nov. 14, 2023, but hasn’t garnered spectacular sports betting market share. In November, it had 4.2% market share in Michigan, 3.4% in Pennsylvania, 1.9% in New Jersey, and 1.5% in New York. One assumes that’s not quite in line with what PENN was hoping for when it committed to a 10-year, $1.5 billion deal with ESPN.

Prior to launching this standalone app, the online Hollywood Casino could only be accessed through the ESPN Bet sportsbook app, which PENN CEO Jay Snowden said on the company’s Q3 earnings call was not ideal. “You’re marketing to your land-based casino database at Hollywood properties and telling them that they should download the ESPN Bet app to play their favorite slot machine,” he lamented.

Optimism is high at PENN (at least in terms of what they’re saying publicly) that the new Hollywood Casino will provide a significant boost.

Can’t you see the sunshine?

As there are now 38 states (plus D.C. and Puerto Rico) with some form of legal sports betting, the remaining opportunities to report on new states considering getting in on the fun are dwindling. Still, one emerged this week when South Carolina state Rep. Chris Murphy introduced House Bill 3625 to get the South Carolina Wagering Act moving when the 2025 legislative session begins.

Key details of the bill: There would be eight operator licenses available, the tax rate would be a modest 12.5% of revenue, DFS (currently unregulated) would also be legalized, and, perhaps most interestingly, the legal betting age would be 18, not 21.

As South Carolina is a state with a significant college sports presence but no major pro teams (at least since the NFL’s Panthers moved to their permanent home in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a debut season in Clemson in 1995), it appears the biggest roadblock to passage is a potential debate over allowing betting on in-state college sports. In its current form, HB 3625 would allow that.

Of note: If South Carolina legalizes sports betting, that would box in Georgia to the north (Tennessee and North Carolina), south (Florida), and east (South Carolina) with legal sports wagering states — though Alabama to the west does not have regulated betting. In any case, South Carolina could be the domino that tips over Georgia as well.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, PART 1: Athlete harassment, prop bets, microbetting among topics assessed at Senate committee hearing on sports gambling [by Eric Raskin]

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK, PART 2: Off-track betting: Senate hearing wanders from gambling to gender [by Jeff Edelstein]

ELECTION INTERFERENCE: House bill introduced to ban betting on U.S. elections [by Erik Gibbs]

YOU LIKE-AH DA JUICE?: Juice Reel founder takes on ‘tout’ industry with performance-based platform [by Jeff Edelstein]

RUNNING NUMBERS: Year in review: the most important lottery biz developments of 2024 [by Bill Dettloff]

INTEL ALARM BELLS: Concerns raised over proposed casino in Fairfax County due to ‘national security’ risks [by Erik Gibbs]

FOLLOW THE MONEY: On buying gaming legislation [by Richard Schuetz]

REV UP, NJ EDITION: Online casino revenue still booming in New Jersey, setting another record (just barely) in November [by John Brennan]

REV UP, PA EDITION: Pennsylvania surpasses $200M in online casino revenue for first time, retail numbers grow too [by Eric Raskin]

REV UP, MI EDITION: Michigan re-breaks online casino record in November, BetMGM back on top [by Jeff Edelstein]

EXECUTIVE DECISION: Nevada Gaming Control Board revokes Scott Sibella’s license amid scandals [by Erik Gibbs]

HOPE IS A GOOD THING: A hint of optimism for 2025 online casino legalization shines through [by Steve Ruddock]

IT’S A WASH: Ninth Circuit Court upholds tribal sovereignty in Washington gaming dispute [by Erik Gibbs]

IS THIS YOUR CARD?: Gambling industry pros reveal their favorite cards [by Jeff Edelstein]

The Shuffle: Other news and views

BACK TO WORK: Culinary workers, Strip casino-hotel reach tentative agreement [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

ASK AND ANSWER: NY facilities location board responds to 350+ more questions about downstate casino bids [iGaming Business]

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT: Iowa woman pleads guilty to fraudulent injury scam at casino [Insurance Journal]

THINK OF THE CHILDREN: New Jersey weighs making underage gambling no longer a crime, but subject to a fine [Associated Press]

IT’S A FEE COUNTRY: FTC takes aim at ‘junk’ casino resort fees with latest rule change [iGaming Business]

WIND BENEATH THEIR WINGS: Wind Creek opening boosts Illinois casino revenue in November as Bally’s Chicago numbers drop [Chicago Tribune]

RAPIDS ASCENT: Cedar Rapids city council approves development agreement for proposed casino [CBS2Iowa]

BUYING UP BALLY’S: Gaming and Leisure Properties completes $395M acquisition of Bally’s casinos [CDC Gaming Reports]

FEELING CONFLICTED?: Murren’s donning of multiple hats may prove problematic [Nevada Current]

SHUFFLING ALONG: L&W antitrust suit cleared for arbitration [iGaming Business]

LICENSED TO ILL: Illinois approves bet365 to launch sports betting [SBC Americas]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week:

• So, there was a Massachusetts Gaming Commission hearing Wednesday on the “durable suitability” of DraftKings operating in the state, and I watched most of it (although all the good stuff, if there was good stuff, took place in “private session”). The TL;DR is that it was more or less just procedural, and even though DraftKings is very much in the commission’s crosshairs for a series of screw-ups, nothing negative is happening with the operator’s license at this time. So, not much to report. Instead, I’ll just share this screen-cap of investigator Michael Banks, who talks with a heavy Boston accent, and holy cow he may actually be more Donnie Wahlberg than Donnie Wahlberg is:

• Also, re: the MCG hearing on DraftKings, I thought this tweet from Jess Welman perfectly summed up how the MGC operates:

• New themed online slot alert: On Wednesday, FanDuel Casino announced the launch of a new game developed by White Hat Studios and co-branded with the NBA, called NBA Super Slam. Former NBA star and co-host of FanDuel TV’s Run it Back Chandler Parson is promoting the game, which is available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ontario. One thing’s for sure: You’ll have fewer regrets about the time you spend playing NBA Super Slam that you have about the time you spent watching NBA Cup games.

• A new charitable casino has opened in Lebanon, New Hampshire, known as the Revo Casino and Social House. Ho-hum, another new casino, whatevs. But here’s what makes this one a little different: The building that now houses 136 slot machines and more than a dozen table games used to be a car dealership. So, if you play there, a little advice: You don’t need the window tint, the undercoating, or the extended warranty. And always be willing to walk away (especially if you see they’re only paying 6:5 on blackjacks).