A lot can happen in a year. And this previous year, a lot took place in the legal sports betting wagering and iGaming market - and then some.


A referendum in Missouri, high-profile wagering scandals, and crackdowns on an overseas sportsbook and college gamer prop sports betting are simply a few of the huge stories of 2024. But there was a lot more.
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So, to refresh our readers' memories (in addition to our own), Covers chosen once again to round up the top stories of the year. The slow news days were scarce, as you'll soon see.


Missouri (barely) authorizes mobile sports betting wagering


Any state authorizing legal sports betting is a big offer. How Missouri did it - and what follows - makes it one of the year's most crucial stories.


Missouri approved retail and mobile sportsbooks by roughly 3,000 votes out of nearly 3 million cast. This was not simply the closest margin of any gaming-related procedure this election cycle but the closest in any state since the Supreme Court overruled the federal sports betting restriction in 2018.


After reviewing the final main outcomes of every Missouri county with more than 10,000 votes this election, I can say - officially - that the sports betting wagering tally measure has actually preserved adequate support from Election Day tallies to pass; sportsbooks will go reside in MO in 2025


Missouri ended up being the 39th state to authorize legalized sports betting wagering and was the only one to do so this year. The marketplace structure, which will permit upwards of a lots mobile books in addition to retail operators - plus the fervent support in the Kansas City city - positions Missouri to be one of the country's more powerful per capita markets when wagering begins in summer season 2025. (Ryan Butler)


Everybody hates sports betting wagering (well, kinda)


The sports betting wagering industry had a run of bad press and extreme scrutiny to close out 2024, culminating in a U.S. Senate committee hearing that saw a great deal of grievances aired.


This wasn't simply one story, but numerous that built up throughout the year that highlighted the simmering concerns and regrets about the business. Headlines like "Legalizing sports betting Gambling Was a Huge Mistake" are difficult to wave away.


The rough stretch for sports betting wagering could embolden legislators and regulators to make modifications in 2025 and beyond. Operators might attempt to get in front of all of it by making changes themselves.


At any rate, this was one of the biggest stories for the market, revealing that it wasn't all great news. (Geoff Zochodne)


The Ohtani/Porter scandals


Speaking of criticism, the worlds of sports betting and sports betting wagering were rocked by two prominent integrity scandals in 2024 that have had consequences for the market.


The first involved baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, whose previous interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty to criminal charges after stealing millions from the Los Angeles Dodger to pay off debts owed to a prohibited sportsbook.


Big league Baseball called Ohtani "a victim of scams" and declared the matter closed. However, the event acted as a tip that sports betting wagering remains unlawful in California, and the fallout stretched all the way to Las Vegas and its controlled gaming industry.


The second scandal struck the NBA, which prohibited Jontay Porter from the league after an investigation discovered the previous Toronto Raptor limited his play in video games for wagering functions, among other things. Criminal charges for Porter and his supposed co-conspirators followed.


There were consequences for bettors too. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the matter raised issues about "the types of bets provided on our video games and gamers," and sportsbooks have actually given that stopped offering Unders on NBA players on two-way or 10-day contacts. (Geoff Zochodne)


The NCAA declares war on college player props


NCAA president Charlie Baker's quest to protect student-athletes from jerk sports betting bettors - I'm paraphrasing - buckled down traction this previous year.


The Ohio Casino Control Commission got the ball rolling by announcing publicly it was considering and then authorizing an NCAA request to restrict "player-specific prop bets" on college sports betting occasions. Louisiana, Maryland, and Vermont did the same. New Jersey lawmakers are pondering legislation that would do the very same.


College gamer prop sports betting is finished in Ohio as of March 1. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, revealed today he authorized the NCAA's demand to ban such wagering. Any remaining futures must be voided by next Friday. pic.twitter.com/b9MXDJmZJE


Baker has since gone before a U.S. Senate committee to refute college gamer props. Additional restrictions might be enacted, even if college player prop wagering is just a little piece of total sports betting.


Furthermore, the NBA and NCAA's successes in restricting particular betting markets underscore that leagues can and may look for to tinker more with what's on the menu at controlled sportsbooks. (Geoff Zochodne)


New York gambling establishments postponed - once again


The most expected East Coast casino opening in a minimum of 50 years will need to wait a while longer.


New York policymakers did not back legislation pressed by the state's greatest video gaming advocates that would have accelerated the licensing timeline for 3 downstate casinos. The properties are anticipated to generate billions of dollars in annual earnings (and hundreds of millions in taxes) in addition to licensing fees, a cash increase that will not start up until the years's second half.


Nearly all major U.S. casino operators have expressed interest in these licenses in the greatest possible brand-new brick-and-mortar video gaming opportunity given that New Jersey permitted legal gambling establishments in Atlantic City in the mid-1970s. MGM's Yonkers property and Resorts World's facility in Queens are favorites to take two of the licenses, but the remainder of the market is jockeying for position for a third quote somewhere else within the 5 boroughs.


The prolonged procedure of selecting the winning bids was a major story in 2024. It will be an even more considerable advancement in 2025 - and perhaps 2026. (Ryan Butler)


Online casinos boom as brick-and-mortar decrease


2024 brought among the more pronounced shifts from in-person to digital video gaming considering that the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all commercial casinos four years earlier.


New Jersey, the veteran center of gaming east of the Mississippi, saw iCasino revenue eclipse the total from the nine Atlantic City casinos. This shift could end up being much more significant when New york city (finally) opens its first full-blown business casino residential or commercial properties.


In New Jersey and other established video gaming markets - consisting of Nevada - brick-and-mortar video gaming revenues insinuated 2024 after seeing a spike after the COVID-19 pandemic went away. Nevada has, in the meantime, no iCasino choices, a hole in America's most popular gambling market that has actually become more apparent as customer characteristics and demographics increasingly shift online.


Only four states have complete, competitive online gambling establishment video gaming markets. But with marquee markets such as Atlantic City having a hard time, iGaming is set to be an even more enticing alternative for policymakers and a crucial income generator for betting companies. (Ryan Butler)


Ontario's iGaming model survives and flourishes


It's in some cases simple to forget what Ontario, Canada's most populated province, is doing when it pertains to online sports betting and internet gambling establishment gaming is something entirely new for the country.


Ontario is still the only province to release a competitive iGaming market that permits several private-sector operators to participate. Billions are being bet and hundreds of millions in profits are being produced by means of lots of operators and websites.


Nevertheless, up until about midway through 2024, Ontario's design had a legal cloud hanging over it in the kind of a claim by the Quebec-based Mohawk Council of Kahnawàhke (MCK).


Some relatively big news here for online sports betting wagering and iGaming in Ontario, as it looks like a Superior Court judge has dismissed a legal obstacle of the province's online gambling design: pic.twitter.com/tJzsuOCbAT


In May, the cloud was lifted after an Ontario judge dismissed the suit, finding the province was exerting adequate control over its iGaming market to meet the "conduct and handle" threshold in Canada's Criminal Code.


The ruling - and the MCK's decision not to appeal - put Ontario's iGaming design on much firmer legal ground. It also offered inspiration to any other province interested in introducing a comparable market. (Geoff Zochodne)


Alberta presses back iGaming market launch


Alberta is one such province thinking about releasing an Ontario-like market for online sports betting wagering, slots, and table games. Indeed, the Alberta federal government has made it clear it will follow the Ontario design closely, albeit with certain tweaks that reflect the differences in video gaming in the two provinces.


However, in the fall, Alberta's iGaming minister stated the province was pumping the brakes on its strategies. The province chose to take more time to speak with stakeholders and collect more input before going further.


Moreover, the federal government intends to introduce "allowing" legislation in the New Year to lay the groundwork for iGaming growth. While the delay may have disappointed players and operators, it stays simply that for now - a hold-up. (Geoff Zochodne)


Prediction markets nail the election


U.S. election wagering has an intriguing - and precise - history. That was proven once again as Betfair, Kalshi, Polymarket, and other election betting markets were dead-on about Donald Trump's prospects of recovering the White House.


Current chances on Kalshi heading into Election Day


Trump: 57%.
Harris: 43% pic.twitter.com/xQiRPE2wbO


The accuracy of the prediction markets in particular likewise offered operators ammo against their critics. It also came as Kalshi continued to fight in court to keep offering political event contracts. That fight isn't over, and 2025 will see more legal and regulative arguments for election betting. (Geoff Zochodne)


Illinois hikes taxes, DraftKings gets creative


Illinois has turned into one of the more robust markets for legal sports betting wagering in the U.S., however lawmakers tossed a wrench into the works this year by treking the state's tax rate to as high as 40% for operators.


DraftKings decided it would not take this and other large tax rates lying down. The Boston-based bookie revealed a plan for a little surcharge on winning bets that it would trouble players in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Illinois.


The coming DraftKings winning bet additional charge tax rate will differ by state, but in an example $DKNG gave up Illinois with a winning $10 bet at +100, the gambler got back $19.68 rather of $20 due to the tax. That would approximately equate to an odds shift from +100 to -104.


It was a vibrant relocation, but DraftKings reversed course after FanDuel and other rivals declined to do the exact same.


DraftKings and others are still coming to grips with those higher tax rates, including a previous hike by Ohio that is already being reevaluated and a minor one being considered by Michigan. With the 2025 legal season looming, we'll see where legislators go next. (Geoff Zochodne)


The Bovada C&D treasure trove


Bovada has actually long been commonly readily available in the U.S. However, this past year, regulators from legal gaming states uncovered the art of letter-writing and peppered the Curacao-based sportsbook and gambling establishment with cease-and-desist requests.


As an outcome, Bovada's U.S. footprint has diminished. The company states it has restricted access to consumers in more than a lots states. That list might grow.


The question for the New Year is if additional states will lean on Bovada and/or its offshore sportsbook brethren. The Bovada C&D plan might also provide some ideas to legislators and operators that have a growing interest in sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks. (Geoff Zochodne)


Florida sports betting wagering's Supreme accomplishment


Like in Ontario, the sports betting status quo in Florida had some legal enigma entering 2024. Before the year was over, those concerns would be addressed in a way that has guaranteed the Seminole Tribe and Acid rock Bet remain in control in the Sunshine State.


In March, the Supreme Court of Florida tossed out a difficulty to the state's sports betting setup. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court decreased to hear a federal legal difficulty.


The 2 choices meant the legal monopoly over legal sports betting wagering in Florida remained in location. Acid rock now enjoys one of the most significant markets in the U.S.