Sports Betting Expansion in Washington State Quashed
Card rooms will not be able to offer legalized sports betting in the state of Washington.
A federal court on Tuesday ruled that the activity will remain at tribal casinos only with mobile betting geofenced to those properties.
Kirkland-based Maverick Gaming owns 22 card rooms in the state. It had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in January 2022 accusing state and federal officials of granting a “discriminatory tribal gaming monopoly” over sports betting and other gambling such as roulette and craps.
Maverick CEO Eric Persson issued a brief statement Tuesday night saying he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chief Judge David Estudillo of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled Tuesday that the Maverick Gaming lawsuit itself posed “a substantial risk” to the “sovereign interests” of Indian tribes. The Shoalwater Bay tribe had intervened back in August claiming its gambling activities would be unduly harmed by the suit.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, one of the named defendants in the lawsuit, hailed the ruling as “a significant victory for tribal sovereignty”.
“Washington law strikes the right balance by permitting sports betting and confining it to tribal casinos, where tribes have experience carefully regulating gambling where individuals must be physically present,” Ferguson said in a release.
This effectively ensures there will not be mobile sports gambling statewide any time in the foreseeable future.
Caesars Anticipates Sports Betting Profit in 2023
Following in the footsteps of BetMGM, Caesars this week said it too expects to show a profit for sports betting in 2023.
Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg noted in a conference call that the company shaved $300 million in losses over last year’s fourth quarter. They did manage to break even as a result, reporting an adjusted EBITDA loss of $5 million for the three-month period ended Dec. 31.
“Caesars Sportsbook delivered significantly improved operating results during the fourth quarter, which sets the foundation for a strong 2023,” Reeg said. “We’re anticipating that Digital will be an EBITDA contributor for us this year. And when I say that, I’m talking about overall and both verticals. I expect sports betting and iGaming to be EBITDA positive.”
Of the big four, only FanDuel has managed to report a profit in a single quarter since state-by-state regulation of sports betting became a thing starting in spring of 2018. That's when the US Supreme Court shot down decades long prohibition against the activity. FanDuel also hopes to become profitable for all of 2023.
It's a catch-22 perhaps. Caesars, FanDuel and others must engage in guerrilla marketing tactics as a means to ensure market share. But the ad spend is enormous and eats into the revenue stream.
If one politician has his way, these sports betting firms will be limited in where they can spend on advertising.
Earlier this month, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced the Betting on our Future Act, which would treat sports betting like cigarettes and ban all advertisements on any medium in the jurisdiction of the FCC including TV, radio and the internet.
Our own Thomas Somach suggests this probably won't apply to cable and lucrative channels such as ESPN and most sports networks should the law be passed. That remains a big IF.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
