Spin Cycle: PA Tax Hike Concerns, NH Casino Expansion Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly 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 …

Is a Pennsylvania tax hike coming?

DraftKings sent an email to Pennsylvania customers last week urging them to contact representatives to reject a “last-minute tax hike” on online betting and gaming, but details of the plan the operator is concerned about remain unclear.

“We’re just days away from their decision being made,” the email said. “Now is the time to speak up.”

The email also contained a link to a page on the Sports Betting Alliance website, which warned “some Pennsylvania lawmakers may be considering a tax hike on online betting” and contained a draft email to be addressed to legislators.

It was not clear what the proposal the operator was warning about was, and a DraftKings spokesperson declined to comment further.

Budget talks are still ongoing in Pennsylvania, despite the fact that the new fiscal year — which the budget is meant to cover — started this Tuesday, July 1.

— Daniel O’Boyle

FSGA survey: DFS, sports betting growth continue

A survey by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA) published Tuesday indicated high levels of engagement across both fantasy sports and betting, and significant overlap between the two.

Researchers completed two phases of surveys of participants in the U.S. and Canada from late May to early June. The first phase surveyed 3,930 adults; the second surveyed 1,029 fantasy players.

The survey found 74% of fantasy players expect to engage in sports betting once legally eligible, and 72% believe that sports betting is an easy way to make money. The same percentage said they believe DFS is an easy way to make money.

In addition, most underage fantasy players surveyed — the legal age for DFS in many states is 18 while the legal age for sports betting is often 21 — are already familiar with sportsbooks and betting platforms.

The research also indicated that about 84 million people in the U.S. and Canada participated in sports betting and fantasy sports in the past year, which is up from last year’s estimate of 81 million.

— Ella Gorodetzky

Congressional committee calculation: $1.1 billion

The controversial 90% limit on loss deductions contained in the sweeping federal bill that was passed by the Senate on Tuesday could cost bettors $1.1 billion over its first eight years on the books, according to a congressional committee.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the new limit — combined with the rule that professional bettors’ business expenses count against the cap — could raise $127 million in 2027 and $165 million by 2034. 

Gamblers who stake large amounts with a low margin of return are likely to be most heavily impacted, with some potentially facing tax bills that exceed their net winnings.

The impact would be roughly equivalent to 1% of all regulated sports betting revenue across the U.S., but unlike a revenue tax, winnings taxes are paid by gamblers instead of operators.

— Daniel O’Boyle

Lots more gambling coming to New Hampshire

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed HB 2 into law Monday, and that means a significant gambling expansion is hitting the Granite State.

The key gaming feature in the bill: The state’s charitable casinos can install unlimited numbers of video lottery terminals (VLTs), which basically means those casinos can have slot machines now. The VLTs will be taxed at 31% of revenue.

Poker cash games and tournaments are also now legal at licensed gambling establishments in the state. And another important addition: The bill combines all self-exclusion procedures — for lottery play, casino games, sports betting, etc. — into one unified program.

New RG tool at DraftKings

On Monday, DraftKings launched My Budget Builder, a responsible gambling tool used to set betting limits on the operator’s platforms.

The tool allows players to create a personal gambling budget and control deposit amounts, total wagers, maximum wager sizes, loss limits, time spent, contest entries, and contest fees, according to a DraftKings release.

The tool can be used to set either limits or reminders. Players can access the tool through the DraftKings app or the DraftKings Responsible Gaming Center online.

— Ella Gorodetzky

House Rules: Insights from around our network

NEWSFLASH — PEOPLE LIKE TO GAMBLE: U.S. online casino revenue totals nearly $900 million for May [by Chris Altruda]

GOTTA PAY UNCLE TONY: New Jersey lawmakers make their online gambling tax hikes official [by John Brennan]

RENO 9-1-1: Titus promises ‘fix’ to Senate gambling tax [by Brant James]

DOG DENIED: California court denies Underdog Sports’ request to halt AG’s DFS opinion [by Jill R. Dorson]

RUBBER DUCKY, YOU’RE THE ONE: Getting your gamble on with… marbles and plastic duckies [by Jeff Edelstein]

DRAWN AND QUARTERED: Fanatics plans $0.25 surcharge on Illinois wagers, follows DraftKings and FanDuel [by Chris Altruda]

WHAT A RIDE: The greatness of D. Wayne Lukas could not be measured just with numbers [by Mike Tierney]

TOP PAIR: WSOP history made twice over weekend [by Eric Raskin]

PAYOFF PITCH?: Report: MLB pitcher placed on leave due to gambling probe [by Jeff Edelstein]

TRIBE HARDER: How NIGC could take more central role in fight against prediction markets [by Jill R. Dorson]

MONEY IN, MONEY IN: Serious withdrawal symptoms [by Richard Schuetz]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcome RotoGrinders Network SVP Dan Back for his assessment of the threat posed to fantasy sports by the forthcoming California attorney general opinion. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also cover the assault on gamblers and regulated gaming by individual states as well as the federal government, a WSOP bracelet event with no bracelet awarded, the Mega Millions $5 price point not working as planned, the mess Malik Beasley is in, and our recent (separate) adventures in New York City. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

TRANSACTION ACTION: Intralot to acquire Bally’s International Interactive business [Complete iGaming]

SO FAR, SO GOOD: Addabbo praises start of downstate casino license process, calls for transparency and economic focus [QNS]

PUMPED UP: Jonathan Little has had a life-changing summer [The Overlay]

EVERY POINT MATTERS: Are micromarkets outpacing match winner bets at Wimbledon? [iGaming Business]

NO WAY, NORWAY: Thousands in Norway told they won up to millions in lottery error [BBC]

ON BOARD: Galaxy Gaming enters multi-year licensing agreement with Hasbro for table games [CDC Gaming Reports]

APPAREL INTELLIGENCE: Fanatics builds its AI game plan with Snowflake [Silicon Angle]

THE EMPEROR’S NEW DIGS: Caesars Palace Times Square reveals first interior renderings as casino race heats up [W42ST]

The Bonus Round

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

• Don’t you just love it when you’re supposed to win $14 and instead you win $5,000? That’s what happened last week to people playing Hard Rock Bet’s live trivia game in New Jersey, as there were 353 winners who were supposed to split a $5,000 prize pool … but instead a technical glitch funded their accounts with $5,000 each. And rather than take the money back, Hard Rock Bet decided to just let the $1.765 million error stand. (And, hey, is $1.765 million really that high a price for great publicity for your gambling app?)

• I watched one episode of the Netflix series Bet and hated every second of it, but … hey, I’m happy for the people who are happy, I guess:

• The craziest no-limit hold’em hand of the week (maybe of the year) didn’t take place at the World Series of Poker. Rather, it was in what turned out to be the final hand of the $10,400 Wynn Summer Classic Championship on Wednesday, with a $2.3 million prize going to first place. Three-handed, chip leader Michael Sklenicka shoved all-in with a measly 8-7 offsuit, and got called by one opponent with pocket kings and the other with pocket tens. The flop came K-8-7, giving Sklenicka two pair, but leaving him with just a 0.22% chance of winning against a set of kings. The 8 of hearts on the turn improved him to 2.4%, with exactly one card left in the deck that could help him. And that card, the 8 of clubs, arrived on the river, giving Sklenicka quads and the championship.