This week’s casino news is squarely focused on the United States. There are all sorts of headlines breaking out of three different states, and we’ve got the latest details for you here.
Multiple California Mayors Back Online Sports Betting Initiative
California may be prepared to take a pretty big leap in the coming weeks in terms of sports betting. It was just announced that four mayors of different cities all voiced their support of a potential sports betting initiative. There are currently three in the works right now that could wind up on the 2022 ballot, and a big backing from the mayors could get them over the hump.
All of the mayors explained that their decision for backing this bill was because they thought it would provide great funding for multiple public programs. A few of those programs involve helping out the homeless and those affected with mental health issues.
None of the three proposals have found its way onto the official ballot just yet, though. At least one of them is going to need to find a way to get a million signatures in order to make that happen.
Lawsuit Regarding Florida Sports Betting Has Been Dismissed
One of three lawsuits going against Florida’s brand-new gaming compact has officially been tossed out of court. A federal judge determined that the West Flagler Associates company didn’t have any legal standing to sue the governor to stop sports betting. The company was also unable to provide any evidence that he was hurting the pari-mutuels by signing this new agreement.
The battle isn’t over just yet even though this is a great victory for the popular pastime. There are still two other battles going on right now that will prevent any expansion of gambling in Florida.
No casinos, an anti-casino group, had filed their lawsuit back at the end of September. They claimed the additions of roulette and craps among other table games would negatively affect property value. They also believe that it is in direct violation of Amendment 3, which was an initiative passed back in 2018 which allowed voters to decide the rights on expanded gambling.
New Jersey Sportsbooks Set Another Monthly Record
New Jersey has long been known as one of the best gambling states in the country but this past month, they took their revenues to another level. The state was able to break its own record by becoming the first state in the United States to surpass the 10-digit mark in monthly gaming revenue. According to the numbers announced, they reeled in a total of $1.01 billion in sports wagers during the month of September.
Sportsbooks in New Jersey have been thriving all of 2021 as well, totaling $7.15 billion in bets from the start of the year to now. The state’s last record was set back in December of 2020. They were able to get up to $996 million back then and kept that record there until now.
In terms of year-over-year revenue, every single casino in the state saw its numbers improve during September. Borgata saw the largest jump in years by reeling in 51.9 percent more this month in 2021 compared to this time in 2020. The Golden Nugget improved the least but still saw their numbers take a 13.2 percent increase year-over-year.