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After quickly abandoning a plan to tax winning bets in states with high sports betting taxes, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) CEO Jason Robins says the company is seeking workarounds in jurisdictions with burdensome tax structures. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins at an industry conference. He said the company is examining alternatives to surcharges to deal with high taxes in some states. (Image: Bloomberg) At the Bank of America’s Gaming and Lodging Conference last week, Robins acknowledged DraftKings customers scoffed when it proposed a small levy on winning sports bets placed by clients in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to deal with the elevated taxes in those states. Clearly, this was something …

Ellis Island in Las Vegas suffered a setback in its lawsuit against F1 on Thursday when the racing giant won three dismissals from a Clark County judge. There is no paving over the grievances held by Las Vegas businesses harmed by construction for last year’s inaugural F1 Las Grand Prix. (Image: Creative Commons) The off-Strip casino hotel’s lawsuit, filed April 30 in Clark County District Court, seeks restitution for the millions in lost revenue it claims to have incurred when construction for last year’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix race restricted customer access to its property. Judge Joanna Kishner dismissed three of the suit’s eight claims that were objected to …

Kambi Group Plc (OTC: KMBIF), a provider of technology services to sportsbook operators, denied that it’s engaged in takeover discussions with Genius Sports (NYSE: GENI). A Kambi booth at an industry convention. The company denied it’s in takeover talks with Genius Sports. (Image: Kambi) Speculation recently surfaced that Genius, a data provider to sportsbooks, was mulling a takeover of Sweden-based Kambi, but Anders Ström, chairman of the Kambi board of directors, said no such conversations have taken place. While Kambi tends not to comment on rumour and speculation, I can confirm that Kambi is not engaged in any such discussions,” he said in a statement. With its shares up 15.35% …

Morris Bailey, a New Jersey real estate tycoon whose DGMB, LLC, owns Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, announced on Thursday a phased development to expand the Monmouth Park Racetrack grounds into a mixed-use destination. A rendering of what’s to come at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. The storied horse racetrack is being targeted by the owner of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City for a mixed-use development highlighted by a 200-room hotel and nearly 300 residential units. (Image: JEMB Realty) Through his JEMB Realty, which has vast office, residential, and entertainment experience throughout the Garden State, Bailey revealed his plans to overhaul Monmouth Park’s roughly 80 acres of paved …

Australian sportsbook operator BlueBet said it’s withdrawing from the US market to focus on its sports betting business in its home country. An image from a BlueBet commercial. The company announced it’s leaving the US sports betting market. (Image: YouTube) The gaming company made the decision as part of its strategic review of its US operations, and it arrived about two months after BlueBet announced plans to leave Indiana. At that time, the operator indicated it intended to continue doing business in Colorado, Iowa, and Louisiana, but it also told investors the strategic review was ongoing. By leaving the US, BlueBet can better focus on its Australian business, which is …

Rush Street Interactive announced the launch of its new rewards platform, iRush Rewards, on Monday. The new program is aimed at making it easier for bettors to earn and redeem points, and to more readily identify what their current status is. A Rush Street Interactive advertisement. The company unveiled a new rewards program on Monday. (Image: X) iRush Rewards is using a tiered rewards template utilized by traditional casino rewards programs. Those tiers are Gold, Platinum, and Black, and each comes with unique perks. This is the first time Rush Street Interactive has implemented tier credits in its rewards plan and, in addition to those credits, bettors will earn loyalty …

On Thursday, the NFL extended its partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) with a second multimillion-dollar donation. The NFL has extended its funding of the National Council on Problem Gambling with a $6.4 million pledge. The money will be used to strengthen programs designed to minimize problem gambling harms. (Image: Casino.org) The National Football League is contributing $6.4 million to the country’s only national nonprofit dedicated to minimalizing the economic and social costs associated with gambling addiction. The NCPG does not support or oppose the legalization of gambling activities. The NCPG says the NFL’s contribution will be used for three strategic initiatives, including funding the continued rollout …

Sports wagering stocks, including DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), are a relatively young asset class, but youth aside, the group is subject to clear seasonal trends. Those include the start of football season often acting as catalyst. A DraftKings billboard appears at Times Square in New York City. Analysts remain bullish on the stock and view football season as a catalyst. (Image: NASDAQ) Prosaic as that thesis is and it is, it’s also sensible because football is the most wagered on sport in the US. The 2024 football season will be DraftKings’ fifth as a freestanding public company. Over the prior four, the stock’s average gain was 5% from the start of …

Notre Dame’s athletics department on Thursday banned its men’s swimming team for one year for violating NCAA and the school’s sports gambling rules. The University of Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming team for a season after an investigation determined that a majority of the team’s swimmers participated in a rogue sports betting pool. Players on the team are free to transfer during the one-year ban. (Image: Shutterstock) An internal investigation led by a private law firm concluded that a majority of the men’s swimmers on the Fighting Irish’s varsity team participated in an illegal betting pool. Investigators determined that the team engaged in wagering amongst themselves, and commonly …

Shares of DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) closed higher by almost 2% Wednesday on volume that was more than double the daily average after the company reversed course on a previously announced plan to tax winning sports bets in four high-tax states. DraftKings stock is highlighted at the Nasdaq market site in New York City. Analysts defended the stock after the company scrapped its surcharge plan. (Image: Nasdaq) In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst David Katz called the operator’s August 1 surcharge announcement a “head fake.” When it delivered second-quarter results on August 1, DraftKings said it planned to roll out a surcharge on winning sports wagers in Illinois, New York, …