Cigars, booze, money: how a lobbying blitz made sports betting ubiquitous in the US

Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, foreground, testifies in favor of sports wagering during a 2022 state Senate hearing alongside Todd George, executive vice president of Penn National Gaming, center, and Jeremy Kudon, president of the Sports Betting Alliance. | Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent Frustrated with legislative…

When Kansas lawmakers legalized sports betting, they seemingly gave lobbyists for casinos everything they wanted. That includes tax exemptions on promotional bets that are aimed at getting bettors hooked. Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in…

Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in the habit of gambling. The new sports betting industry also makes hardly any revenue for the state, amounting to a small drop in the bucket of the state's multi-billion dollar operating budget. What's…

Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in the habit of gambling. The new sports betting industry also makes hardly any revenue for the state, amounting to a small drop in the bucket of the state's multi-billion dollar operating budget. What's…

People in Kansas can now lose hundreds to thousands of dollars, and possibly more, with just a few taps on their phone. The fallout from gambling addiction can be devastating - from people losing their life savings and stealing to suicide. Up until about a year ago, Kansas only allowed gambling through the lottery and in-person at state casinos.…

By Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service Aug. 9, 2023, 5 a.m. · People in Kansas can now lose hundreds to thousands of dollars, and possibly more, with just a few taps on their phone. The fallout from gambling addiction can be devastating - from people losing their life savings and stealing to suicide. Up until about a year ago, Kansas only allowed…

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on sports betting in Kansas. Part two will publish next week. Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in the habit of gambling. The new sports betting industry also makes hardly any revenue for…

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on sports betting in Kansas. Part two will publish next week. Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in the habit of gambling. The new sports betting industry also makes hardly any revenue for…

JEFFERSON CITY - A long-running debate over expanding gambling in Missouri fell along familiar fault lines in the state Senate Wednesday as the latest effort to legalize sports betting again became entangled with the proliferation of illegal slot machines in gas stations and bars. Despite top leaders pushing to bring sports betting to the state,…

The Missouri Senate voted against allowing video lottery games Wednesday evening, but it was unable to get a bill authorizing sports wagering to a vote. A Senate impasse on expanded gambling has blocked bills legalizing sports betting in each of the past two legislative sessions. In both years, as it did again this year, the Missouri House has…

For the second straight legislative session, the Missouri House has approved a statewide digital sports betting bill. The 118-35 vote Wednesday represented three votes more in favor than in 2022. The bill now moves on to the Senate, where it was killed by filibuster last session. HB 556 and its companion, HB 581, would allow for retail and digital…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) - A proposal to expand sports gambling in North Carolina has accomplished a trifecta in less than 24 hours. House Bill 347, with amendments being proposed right and left, fought its way through its third committee vote on Wednesday afternoon, when the Judiciary1 Committee sent the bill back to the Rules Committee (and to the…

AUSTIN - A powerful pro-gambling group, and former Gov. Rick Perry, project Texas could earn $250 million annually from tax revenue, but some caution lawmakers to note patterns that have played out in state after state. The revenue projection may not bear out as the bill would give Texas among the lowest tax rates on gambling revenue in the…

North Carolina can support as many as nine Las Vegas-style casinos with gambling throughout the state, including one in the Asheville area, according to a report commissioned by the General Assembly. The new casinos would be in addition to the three already operating on tribal lands, an independent consultant, Spectrum Gaming Group, told lawmakers…

The drive to expand gambling in Texas has momentum. That's the first time that can be said since Texas voters approved the constitutional amendment allowing the return of legal wagering on horse racing in 1987 and then voted to legalize the state lottery in 1991, with both measures passing by a 2-to-1 margin. Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade…

The bill, which requires two-thirds approval by both the state House and Senate chambers, would see Texans vote next November on whether to approve or reject an amendment that would reverse the state's existing constitutional ban on gambling. A new poll has revealed that 75% of Texans are in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment by state…

AUSTIN - Casino and resort giant Las Vegas Sands has hired dozens of lobbyists and contributed millions of dollars to dozens of Texas lawmakers and legislative groups ahead of a renewed push to expand gambling this session. Among those who received the biggest contributions was Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who received $300000 from…

As state legislators head back to work this month, the lawyer who directs lobbying strategy for a coalition of sportsbooks and leagues recognized that he has run out of "low-hanging fruit states." Still, there's one state that Jeremy Kudon sees as farther along than most. A bill in North Carolina failed by only one vote last year, in the last week…

B aseball's all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, has a new hustle-legal sports betting. On New Year's Day, the Cincinnati Reds legend, who was permanently banned from baseball in 1989 for gambling on the game while he was manager of the team, placed the first legal sports wager in Ohio. True to form, Rose put action on the Reds to win the 2023 World…

This week's presentation by Fanatics Betting management to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission confirmed the aggressive timeline that chairman Michael Rubin suggested at an SBJ event last year, with the company asserting that it will launch this fiscal quarter, and roll out in "a majority" of legal online states by September.A consultant who…

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TOPEKA, Kansas - A New York Times investigation into the gambling industry's bare-knuckled lobbying efforts provides insight into concessions Kansas lawmakers provided when they legalized sports betting earlier this year. Among the revelations from the report, published Sunday as part of a series on "a relentless nationwide campaign" to expand…

All betting content on NJ.com is written exclusively by Catena Media, which provides expert analysis, reviews, bonuses, and tools for sports bettors and casino players. Please wager responsibly. Sports betting has been legal in North Carolina since 2019, albeit in a limited way. Only the two Cherokee casinos in the western part of the state have…