On Tuesday, April 19, 2022, Maine’s state legislature passed L.D. 585 that will legalize retail and online sports betting throughout the state once signed by Governor Janet Mills. If enacted, the bill would give the state’s four federally-recognized Indian tribes the exclusive ability to offer mobile sports betting and the state’s non-tribal gaming facilities the exclusive ability to offer retail sports betting. The bill imposes a 10% tax on adjusted gross sports wagering receipts. continue reading
NY Court of Appeals Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Daily Fantasy Sports Law, Reversing Lower Court Rulings
On March 22, 2022, the New York Court of Appeals held that the historical prohibition on “gambling” in Article I, §9 of the New York Constitution does not encompass skill-based competitions like daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests, in which participants who exercise substantial influence over the outcome are awarded pre-determined fixed prizes by a neutral operator. (See White, et. al. v. Cuomo, et al., 2022 NY Slip Op. 01954 (March 22, 2022)). In so holding, the court upheld the 2016 state law explicitly authorizing and regulating DFS contests, and reversed the 2018 and 2020 lower court decisions, which held DFS contests qualify as “gambling” under the New York Constitution and could therefore only be legalized through a constitutional amendment. continue reading
New York State Senator Introduces Bill to Legalize iGaming
In February 2022, New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo introduced S.B. 8412, a bill that would legalize online casino gaming (also known as “iGaming”) in New York. If passed, the Bill would give the New York State Gaming Commission (the Commission) the authority to issue iGaming “registrations” to (1) the state’s licensed commercial casinos; and (2) any New York-based American Indian Tribe that has entered into a valid tribal-state gaming compact and executed a “mobile interactive gaming wagering” agreement with the Commission. Each casino/tribal registrant would be permitted to offer up to two individually-branded iGaming platforms. Under the bill, casino/tribal registrants could either operate their own iGaming platforms or contract with third-party platform operators who could conduct iGaming operations on their behalf. As a condition of registration, each casino/tribal registrant would be required to pay a one-time fee of $2 million, and each third-party iGaming platform operator would be required to pay a one-time fee of $10 million. continue reading
Arkansas Legalizes Online Sports Betting as State’s Joint Budget Committee Approves Amended Rules
On February 22, 2022, the Arkansas Joint Budget Committee (Committee) legalized mobile/online sports betting in the state of Arkansas by approving the proposed amendments to the state’s casino gaming rules. As we reported previously, on December 30, 2021, the Arkansas Racing Commission (Commission) voted to amend the state’s casino gaming rules to allow online/mobile sports betting throughout the state. Shortly thereafter, the Commission asked Arkansas Legislative Council to hold off on approving the amended rules. However, as shown by the Committee’s approval today, the Arkansas legislature was eager to move forward with the launch of online sports betting. continue reading