Spin Cycle: Bettors Getting A Voice, NC Losing A Voice 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 …

A change for the bettor

Most casino games feature a little something known as “house edge,” and this is a reality most gamblers understand and accept.

But while sports bettors are comfortable paying the vig that represents the sportsbooks’ inherent mathematical advantage, they never agreed to the house edge extending to having the ear of the regulators in a way customers don’t or to rules and limits established in secret or without their input.

Enter American Bettors’ Voice, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group that formally launched this week, aiming to give bettors “a seat at the table” as legislators, regulators, and operators shape the industry. The key public-facing representatives of the organization include Chairman Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos and Honorary Chairman Billy Walters — two of the world’s most famous and successful sports bettors — and CEO Richard Schuetz, all of whom spoke last week on a panel calling out flaws in the regulated sports wagering industry, setting the stage for the announcement of the formation of ABV.

Now, a brief pause for a big-time “full disclosure”: Schuetz is a frequent contributor to Casino Reports, and the ABV board includes both me and Casino Reports Chief Content Officer Brett Smiley. So, there’s no sense in me using this “Spin Cycle” space to stump for ABV or encourage readers to become members. You know going in that Casino Reports supports this cause.

So here’s the “vision statement.” If it resonates with you, head to the website to learn more:

“To assist the sports betting industry in achieving a sustainable model by securing a seat at the table for the sports betting consumer and giving them a voice.”

North Carolina iCasino hopes take a hit

One of the driving forces behind the effort to legalize online casinos in North Carolina, Rep. Jason Saine, will not be carrying that fight into 2025, as he announced this month his decision to resign from the state legislature. The 50-year-old Republican said his resignation will take effect in mid-August and he may shift careers toward multi-state marketing for a mental health company.

Asked by North Carolina Public Radio what some of his top accomplishments were during his tenure in the legislature, Saine singled out his role in bringing legal sports betting to North Carolina.

“I came to sports betting, not because I was betting on sports, but I came in from a place of working on fantasy leagues,” Saine said. “When the Supreme Court decision came that allowed sports betting to be legal nationwide, it was a natural fit for me to be the leader on that.”

Saine’s departure is almost certainly a setback for iCasino legalization hopes in the state, as no other representatives were pushing as vocally as he was. In the July edition of Casino Reports’ “Ruddock Report” by Steve Ruddock, published prior to Saine’s exit, North Carolina was listed as a candidate for serious consideration in 2026.

Delaware sets state revenue record in June

Online casino revenue continues to grow in Delaware with BetRivers as the state’s sole operator. Before BetRivers took over in January, the state averaged about $1.1 million in revenue per month. So far in 2024, the monthly average is nearly four times that, at $4.2 million.

And June, a month that saw iCasino revenue decline in many other states, was a record-setter in Delaware. Slots revenue of $3.48 million was a new high, table games revenue of $1.55 million was 19% above the previous best, and the total revenue came to $5.03 million, up 29% over May.

This was the first time iCasino revenue in the state topped $5 million.

BetRivers is partnered with three land-based casinos in the state, each with its own mobile casino app. Delaware Park was the most popular of the three with $2.68 million in revenue in June, followed by Harrington Raceway & Casino at $1.44 million and Bally’s Dover at a little over $900,000.

The Shuffle: Other news and views

WASHINGTON, DK: DraftKings becomes fourth online sportsbook in DC

JUST SAY NO: Betting tens of thousands to win hundreds: Inside the wild world of ‘No’ bets

SKILL STANDING: Regulation, retention, or removal? The ‘skill game’ debate rolls on at NCLGS

KID STUFF: 17-year-old from England arrested in cyber hackings targeting MGM Resorts

APOLLO LANDING: IGT and Everi combine assets under Apollo’s $6.3 billion acquisition

EXECUTIVE DECISION: Entain names Gavin Isaacs as next chief executive officer

JUST FOR KICKS: The allure and the antics of Kick Casino streamers

CAN’T DEAL: Regulators issue cease and desist on live-dealer webcast from Las Vegas studio

SUPERBAD: SuperBook shuttering online sports betting ops outside of Nevada

BUY-BACK PROGRAM: Musburger Media purchases VSiN back from DraftKings

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: bet365 officially launches iGaming platform in Pennsylvania, announces partnership with White Hat Studios 

UPS AND DOWNS: Churchill Downs reports record revenue for 2Q24

MASS GOING MOBILE: Massachusetts poised to add online lottery sales, pending governor signature

ASK THE ALGORITHM: Golden Matrix Group launches AI casino-game recommender

SMOKE SIGNALS: Cigarette machine on premises reveals what casinos are really protecting

WYNN-LOSE SITUATION: Prominent NY lawmakers speak out against Wynn’s Hudson Yards casino plan

ERUPTION, INDEED: IGT’s Cash Eruption revealed as the top online slots game in the US for July

CRIME DOESN’T PAY: Las Vegas police arrest 2 in $650K casino cage robbery

SPOKE UP: Hub-and-spoke model provides path for California, tribal states

BIGGER BELLAGIO: Bellagio casino expansion project moves forward

PERSONAL REASONS: Former New York official wants sun to set on Mohegan Sun’s NY casino plans

BOYD IN THE ‘BURBS: On earnings call, Boyd Gaming announces suburban Las Vegas casino

STANDARD PROCEDURE: Bally’s accepts $4.6 billion takeover bid from Standard General

The Bonus Round

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

• The keynote speaker has been announced for the SBC Summit in Lisbon, Portugal in September: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web. On the one hand, I probably wouldn’t have this job as an editor of a website without Berners-Lee. On the other hand, the inevitable collapse of society will no doubt be traced back to the advent of the internet. Either way, the dude can’t possibly compare to frickin’ Dan Marino as an SBC keynote speaker. 

• The Mirage may be gone, but some of its artifacts will remain intact. The following are set to be donated to Las Vegas’ Neon Museum: the 27-foot-long Mirage neon sign that sat in the Volcano Lagoon; the 30-foot-tall Mirage hotel entrance arch sign; and a 17-foot-tall sculpture of Siegfried & Roy with a giant white tiger.

• A record was set at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon, when an anonymous player turned a $5 side bet in Face Up Pai Gow into the largest Pai Gow Progressive jackpot hit in the casino’s history, $2,211,469. The player was dealt a seven-card straight flush, with the help of a joker, as pictured below. (We don’t even want to think about the amount of pain this would have caused if the player hadn’t ante’d up for the side bet.)

• Some nine months after Shane Pinto was suspended for violating the NHL’s sports gambling policy, we finally have some details on what the Ottawa Senators forward was suspended for. Pinto explained on a podcast that he engaged in proxy betting, having friends in America place bets for him while he was in Canada — but not on NHL games, importantly.

And we leave you this week with the ultimate low-speed chase. Enjoy the weekend, everyone!