Hi again Chaos_ult,

Regarding Illinois, there is an update that significantly impacts the in-house registration requirements for "legal" sites in IL (see post #121 ITT).


https://sportshandle.com/illinois-in...tion-expiring/ (by: Chris Altruda - Jul 26, 2020)

"It appears to be back to the book for patrons interested in sports betting in Illinois. The Executive Order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker suspending the in-person provision to register for a mobile/online wagering account is on track to expire when the clock strikes midnight Sunday night/Monday morning..."

Here is a direct link to IL Executive Order 2020-41 (Jun 4, 2020), which is set to expire in a few hours.

The relevant clause in that executive order is pasted below.

[Section 1. During the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, the provisions in the Sports Wagering Act, 230 ILCS 45/25-30(f), 25-35(f), and 25-40(i), requiring in-person creation of a sports wagering account at a facility authorized pursuant to the Act in order to participate in sports wagering offered over the internet or through a mobile application, are suspended.]

As a reminder, this update only impacts Illinois. It does not affect MI.

-David
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Tweets by: Adam Small (Director - Better Collective TN), Michael Murphy (CEO - Murphy Marketing)

How can there be sports bettng until the virus is eliminated?

How can you tell who will play, who is sick, who is returning, or who will quit because their mother said it is too dangerous?

Asking for a friend.

Sure TZ. I'm not very familiar with the sports betting business, but a Sports Handle article I just read (linked below) said that BetRivers "...had to pull offerings on PGA Tour events, NASCAR, Korean Baseball, and some lower-tier soccer leagues..." following the governor's most recent order.

Your second question I think deals with DFS lineups? You might want to try the Fantasy Sports forum here on 2+2.
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The following Twitter thread by Silent Bob is an excellent resource for those who would like an informed editorial take on what's happening with IL online sports betting.



Separately, here are two recent articles that cover the sudden shift in IL policy concerning in-house registration requirements for iGambling services.

https://www.legalsportsreport.com/42...on-ends-today/ (Adam Candee - Jul 26, 2020)

"The sudden move sends a shockwave through the IL sports betting market days before DraftKings reportedly expected to launch its mobile app..."
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https://sportshandle.com/pritzkers-i...-registration/ (Jill Dorson - Jul 27, 2020)

"Now this is speculation, but it appears the governor’s goal all along has been to protect Rush Street Interactive, the Illinois-based gaming company that owns Rivers Casino-Des Plaines and the BetRivers mobile sports betting app. For now, its app is the only game in town for digital sports betting..."
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Michigan Online Poker to Move Forward Without Sharing Player Pool

Hearing that there won't be a shared pool is actually quite intriguing.

Placing this here since there have been recent posts concerning Illinois.

The article below is a continuation of the in-house registration requirements debate for online sites in Illinois -- covered in Post #121 and Post #126 ITT. Note that this specific conversation currently revolves around mobile sports betting/DFS and not online poker. However, state governments' decisions related to in-house registration requirements for online casino/sports betting/poker could obviously have a meaningful impact on business either way.

https://sportshandle.com/illinois-dr...estore-online/ (Chris Altruda - Aug 19, 2020)

"The travails of gaining access to mobile sports betting in Illinois have taken yet another twist as DraftKings has begun an email campaign asking residents to email Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reinstate his Executive Order No. 41 from June that suspended the in-person registration provision of the bill he signed into law legalizing sports wagering last year..."


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Here's a separate article plus Twitter thread that discuss the intricacies of what is happening on a federal level.



https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ir...oss-2020-08-14 (Weston Blasi - Aug 15, 2020)

"The Internal Revenue Service has decided that DraftKings DKNG, -1.32% and other daily fantasy sports companies should pay a federal excise tax on daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests. The tax will apply to entry fees for daily fantasy games, and could have a huge impact on the gaming industry..."
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UPDATE: Reports that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has authorized remote registration for licensed online services in the Prairie State -- at least temporarily (through September 19th).

https://sportshandle.com/illinois-re...allowed-again/ (Jill Dorson - Aug 21, 2020)

"The new normal is constant change in Illinois. On Friday afternoon, reports surfaced that Gov. J.B. Pritzker once again rolled back the in-person registration requirement for sports betting..."

"But if Twitter is correct and remote registration is back, that reignites fires at both FanDuel and PointsBet, both of which have been inching toward going live in Illinois, but likely felt less pressure to do so without the remote option..."

More drama as of this morning in Illinois -- revolving around online sports betting and the contentious issue of land-based registration requirements for licensed sites.

The Sports Handle article below includes a since-deleted Tweet by DraftKings CEO Jason Robins along with a direct reactionary quote from competing interest Rush Street Interactive.

https://sportshandle.com/draftkings-...rush-st-tweet/ (Jill Dorson - Aug 24, 2020)

"DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins on Monday morning fired off some harsh words showing that he is unappreciative — to put it mildly — of competitor Rush Street Gaming’s jockeying in the Illinois sports betting field..."


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This issue right now is isolated to Illinois and does not include online poker. I'm placing it in this thread b/c there have been posts about IL, and because the issue of in-house registration requirements in Illinois or other U.S. states (including Michigan) would have a potential future impact on licensed iPoker products (especially market newcomers) in terms of new business/customer signup experience.

The same obviously goes for future and current U.S. statewide online sports betting and iCasino products. I believe online sports betting has been authorized in roughly 10 states since the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court repeal of PASPA.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinion...6-476_dbfi.pdf (May 14, 2018)

If this topic eventually needs its own thread, there are active Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting forums here at 2+2.

-David

UPDATE: Michigan Online Poker

Alex Weldon, via Online Poker Report, advises that a hearing will be held this afternoon in Lansing (at 3:00 local time) to consider a bill that would allow the state's gaming regulators to negotiate shared liquidity compacts with other legal U.S. statewide jurisdictions for licensed interstate online poker games.

https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/44...r-bill-update/ (Sep 15, 2020)

"The Michigan legislature will hold a hearing today, Sept. 15. Among the bills up for consideration is SB 991, which would make it possible for Michigan to engage in interstate online poker..."

Alex provided a link to the legislative proposal within the OPR article. That link is pasted below.

https://trackbill.com/bill/michigan-...t-seq/1929230/ (Michigan Senate Bill 991 --- 3 pages)

If a public link for the hearing becomes available in the next two hours, I'll post it in this thread.

Will post follow-up report(s) here ITT either way.


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NOTE: Although the proposal would allow for compacts with tribal interests (which allow patrons 18+in land-based establishments), this bill would mandate that all interstate online poker participants are age 21 or over. This proposed age restriction is in-line with current U.S. licensed iGaming products -- including licensed online poker games in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware.

RELATED: DOJ Wire Act Re-interpretation Discussion Thread (Nov 2018/Jan 2019)

-David
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Here's an article covering yesterday's hearing on the 3-page proposal that would allow Michigan to compact with other states that offer legal U.S. iGaming.

https://www.playmichigan.com/mi-onli...aring-success/ (Matt Schoch - Sep 16, 2020)

"Sen. Curtis Hertel testified for less than three minutes on Tuesday to the Senate’s Regulatory Reform Committee in an effort to allow Michigan online poker sites to compact with other states offering online poker like Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania..."

PlayMichigan contributor Matt Schoch reports that "online poker, sports betting apps, and online casino could go live as soon as November."

The article linked below also provides an update on Michigan Senate Bill 991 (see Post #134 above).

According to Schoch, the legislative proposal -- which would enable the MGCB to establish interstate compacts with other U.S. jurisdictions where online poker is legal -- will move on to the full state Senate after passing out of the Regulatory Reform Committee.

https://www.playmichigan.com/mi-onli...aring-success/ (Sep 22, 2020)

There's a public hearing today concerning rules & regulations for MI online poker, sports betting apps, and iCasino.

PlayMichigan lead writer Matt Schoch has an early morning update from Detroit.

Here's a link to the public hearing, provided by former PPA Executive Director and current U.S. iGaming Government Relations consultant John Pappas. The link includes instructions on how to listen-in.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/m...__700443_7.pdf (link on Page 2)

POKER LEGEND PHIL HELLMUTH TALKS ROLE IN RUSH STREET ONLINE GAMING MERGER

https://www.playusa.com/poker-legend...gaming-merger/ (Sean Chaffin - Sep 30, 2020)

"Rush Street Interactive (RSI), one of the fastest-growing online casino and sports wagering companies in the US, announced a reverse merger with dMY Technology Group in late July. As a result, RSI will become a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. The combined company is expected to have an initial value of $1.78 billion. Another interesting twist is the involvement of poker legend and 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. The Poker Hall of Famer is an investor and spoke with PlayUSA about the company, its future, and his unique role with Rush Street/dMY..."

Matthew Kredell reports that Michigan S 991 (which would authorize the MGCB to form interstate online poker compacts with other legal U.S. jurisdictions) has passed out of the state senate.

https://www.playmichigan.com/online-...ses-mi-senate/ (Oct 1, 2020)

"Michigan took the first step toward having multi-state online poker player pools Thursday with the Senate passing the legislation. After passing the Senate by a vote of 389-36, S 991 needs to pass the House and get the governor’s signature to become law. Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., who sponsored the bill, told PlayMichigan he doesn’t expect House passage to take place until the lame-duck session in November..."

Jessica Welman is communicating that the state bill was almost derailed by a push to add "Historical Horse Racing."



Personally, this is the first time I've ever heard the term Historical Horse Racing. Here's a short video from Play USA contributor Nicole Russo on what HHR is, and how it differs from traditional "pari-mutuel" horse race wagering.

Here is an article from PlayMichigan contributor Matt Schoch.

https://www.playmichigan.com/mgcb-pu...gambling-regs/ (Oct 5, 2020)

Matt informs that "...a Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) official said the latest estimate for the online gambling launch is still around Thanksgiving. When launched, Michigan residents will be able to bet sports online, as well as play online poker and in online casinos."

PlayMichigan contributor Matt Schoch outlines which online poker brands are coming to the Great Lakes State.

https://www.playmichigan.com/online-...s-in-michigan/ (October 2020)

Matt explains in the article that "partypoker, PokerStars are in position first..."

Former PPA Executive Director and current iDEA Growth government relations consultant John Pappas reports that:

rules for Michigan online sports betting and iGaming (including online poker) have been submitted to the Michigan Legislative Council JCAR.

Here's an article by Michael Gentile for pokerfuse.

It recaps how Michigan SB 991 (which would allow the Michigan Gaming Control Board to compact with other U.S. states that offer legal online poker) passed out of the state Senate earlier this month and now needs to be approved by the state's House of Representatives in order to make it to Gov. Whitmer's desk to sign or veto.

https://pokerfuse.com/news/law-and-r...r-legislation/ (Oct 12, 2020)

"Although the House is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday October 13, SB 991 does not currently appear on the official House calendar, leaving just one other day that the House will be in session this month (October 21).

In fact, the Michigan House of Representatives has only 15 in-session days remaining before it adjourns for the year. And if the bill does not pass a vote of the full House (which would send it to Governor Whitmer to be signed into law) before the end of the 2020 session, lawmakers would need to start the whole process over as only bills 'pending at the final adjournment of a regular session held in an odd numbered year shall carry over with the same status to the next regular session,' according to the state constitution..."

I am a little confused at the moment regarding the process. The Senate passed the SB991 bill but it was then passed to the Regulatory Reform Committee from the house and I don’t see any information after that. Time is running out and if the House doesn’t also pass it by tomorrow, I believe, it’s dead in the water until 2021.

Hi ~PLO~,

That's my understanding too, although admittedly I'm going 100% off of the public intel that's been posted by the outlets linked in this thread. I haven't posted a separate article on the subject myself because I don't want to potentially dilute the message that's being distributed from outlets that are publishing direct quotes from individuals located in Michigan who are familiar with the process.

Whether legislators/voters/constituents that reside in the Great Lakes State wish to grant formal authorization to the Michigan Gaming Control Board to commercially compact with other regulated statewide U.S online poker markets is an interesting topic.

Hopefully individuals in Michigan who both agree/disagree with U.S. interstate online poker "shared liquidity" will inform others within the state of their respective views. Either publicly or privately... however they see fit.

That way statewide legislators and industry stakeholders (along with possibly Gov. Whitmer -- who would decide to sign or veto the proposal if/when it reaches her discretion) can make the most informed decision possible (imo).

-David

Okay boys and girls .. I put some time into this today and after quite a few phone calls spoke to someone who gave me 20 minutes of very good information.

1) The MGCB proposed R/R are 'in front' of JCAR and (as shown above) they have 15 'session' days to review them or they go into effect 'the next day' without any changes. The issue is getting to 15 session days in 2020. A 'session day' is when both House and Senate are in session the same day (since this is a joint committee) .. and there are not enough of those days left on the 2020 legislative calendar right now (about 9 to 11). According to the source, it's only been 2-3 session days so far so the math is not good to get to 15.

2) HOWEVER, the JCAR can meet and waive the 15 day timetable if there aren't any tweaks that are going to be proposed. Which, according to the source, it's assumed right now that no changes will be proposed.

3) IF the JCAR doesn't waive the timetable AND they don't get in 15 session days, then the 15 days will reset to zero and can't begin again until the new legislature begins meeting in January.

4) IF any changes are proposed, then it could be as long as another year before MGCB/JCAR has another shot at this process since some changes may require laws to be modified .. again, the source doesn't anticipate this.

5) As of two weeks ago, MGCB had zero 'agents' that had 100% completed the application process. AND (not a quote) but their opinion was that none of the 'big boys' had even started the application process, only smaller entities. This was about the weakest area of information the source had .. I'm not sure if there's any way to track who applied to be an agent on MGCB website and good luck getting any of them on the phone. Due to this intel, they feel that it would be at least 6 weeks after the R/R are in effect for anyone to be up and running.

So it could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 1 year before the R/R are approved by JCAR and then it will just be however long it takes the first agent to be fully approved by MGCB to kick things off.

I didn't have time today, but this source gave me another source to contact concerning the status of combining the Michigan pool with other poker pools.

So while the Poker News 'article' indicate 'within weeks' they really (IMO) didn't do enough research to fully explain what needed to happen. GL


PS .. Since 'the law' has already passed and this is just the evolution of what the law allows, the Governor is not involved in this R/R process directly (unless a law needs to be modified or created per JCAR request).

Thank you very much for taking the time and effort, and for sharing this info. Very informative.

Follow up on the playerpool information. I'm personally most curious about that more than any timetable for some reason.

It's about 8 years too late.

FFS, if it's MI players only, there will be no players, and if it's shared, it will be a bunch of bots/regs/colluders. I mean hell, the fact that "big players" don't even want to touch it speaks wonders.