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Welcome to 2021!
Let’s save the theatrics and just hope everyone had a roaring end to 2020 and is ready to welcome the new year with some fresh gambling news. Because the staff here at PlayUSA is ready to provide just that.
This week, a Chicago-area gambling company debuts on Wall Street, Iowa sports betting launches remote registration, and William Hill gives DC residents a mobile betting app.
On the rewind:
Rush Street Interactive is latest to appear on NY Stock Exchange
The latest online casino company to make the Wall Street transition is Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (RSI).
The move is not surprising at all. Ever since estimates rolled out that the domestic sports betting market could be worth $15 billion, everyone has been eyeing a sliver of the pie.
Operators including DraftKings and Golden Nugget Online Casino were some of the early operators to debut on Wall Street. And now, we can add RSI to the list.
The switch could provide early dividends as RSI, which operates the BetRivers sports betting brand, currently operates in several key states:
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Pennsylvania
Additionally, the company has access to New York, which is expected to be a large market should online sports betting ever become a reality.
RSI also happens to be the parent company of PlaySugarHouse, which offers both sports betting and NJ online casino games. Experts have also speculated the internet gaming market could be worth an additional $20 billion.
The takeaway: This is another prominent sports betting/online casino operator making the move to Wall Street. Could this be a 2021 trend? Perhaps, but it’s only January. For now, we have to take this at face value, which is another company getting in on the ground flow anticipating strong returns on the online gambling market. However, experts have speculated it will take another 3-5 years until we find out how lucrative the industry could be.
Welcome Iowa to the remote registration party
Iowa launched sports betting operations in August 2019. Back then, customers had to physically travel to casinos, wait in line, provide information to create an , drive back home, get in their favorite lounge chair, and then place a bet. Wow, that sounds very archaic. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the old school atmosphere of a retail sportsbook but times have changed.
Now, Iowa residents have the luxury of choice. If they want to remain old school and ive of the casino industry, they can continue to for betting s in person. Or, if they choose to stay home to for Iowa mobile sports betting s, they can do that too.
The takeaway: This is a big step to mobile sports betting superiority. In an age where everyone is on their smartphone and a global pandemic is still roaming around the country, the last thing needed is crowds of people flocking to casinos to sign up for betting s. The day will come when you can once again sip a martini, yank on a slot machine endlessly and place sports bets at a casino. Until then, remote registration provides the ability to place wagers on your favorite sports team while staying socially distant.
William Hill launches mobile sports betting in DC – sort of
Our last story takes us to the Nation’s Capital where established betting operator William Hill recently announced the launch of a mobile DC sports betting app.
The company recently set up a temporary sportsbook inside the Capital One Arena, home to several of Washington, DC’s major sports franchises, and has been doing relatively well. In November, William Hill took $13.7 million in bets, well above the $3.9 million GambetDC collected. For those who aren’t aware, GambetDC is the District sports betting app run by the DC Lottery.
There is a catch though. See, other mobile sportsbooks across the US allow customers to place wagers from anywhere inside state lines. But the Caesars Casino app only allows customers to place bets if they are within a two-block radius of the arena.
The takeaway: Sure, this may not be full-blown mobile sports betting, but you have to take what you are given. If you are a fan of William Hill, all you need to do is take one step inside that two-block radius and you can place bets without fighting through crowds of people. I’d say in a COVID-19 world, that’s a pretty good trade-off.
