The COVID-19 pandemic is driving new patterns (and increasing established patterns) of substance use and compulsive behaviors. People who gamble regularly online are doing so just as often or more frequently during the coronavirus pandemic. Alcohol sales are up more than 60 percent and opioid overdoses have skyrocketed. Recent reports show that online gambling services have exploded in popularity, which could lead to a subsequent increase in gambling addiction. You don’t know when it will go from “just fun” to...

BELOIT, Wis. (WMTV) -The Ho-Chunk Nation’s Beloit Casino is taking another step forward after receiving approval from Governor Tony Evers. Evers announced Wednesday he concurred with the U.S. Department of Interior’s 2020 decision on taking 33-acres of land into trust to develop the casino. The land trust is part of a nearly 74-acre site, located just north of the Illinois border, that would be transformed into a casino-resort complex. Officials say it would also create more than 1,500 long-term jobs and more...

ATLANTA – Legislation to legalize online sports betting in Georgia gained momentum in the state Senate Thursday just as it appeared to get sidetracked in the Georgia House of Representatives. A Senate committee passed a constitutional amendment that would put sports betting on the statewide ballot next year for Georgia voters to decide. Senators decided to pursue the referendum route after the House postponed a floor vote on a bill aimed at legalizing sports betting without changing the state Constitution....

BLACK HAWK, Colo. (CBS4) – One of the hardest hit industries from the COVID-19 pandemic is hoping for a rebound this year with gaming in Colorado looking completely different in 2021. Sports betting has surpassed $1 billion in bets and soon table games will expand without bet limits. “The sports book being added, new table games being added, it’s a very exciting time in Colorado,” said Tim Morrissey, the General Manager of Saratoga Casino Black Hawk. “I think we have...

  Casino.org, January 29, 2021 Philip Conneller   Minnesota’s sports betting bill arrived at the legislature in Saint Paul Thursday, as had been widely anticipated. The bipartisan legislation would legalize sports books in the North Star State, initially in the land-based casinos and racetracks. Then it would eventually move online, but through those casinos only. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Karla Bigham (D-Cottage Grove) and State Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington). They told local ABC affiliate WDIO Thursday that...

Before the pandemic, Indian Country’s economy was on the rise – tribal nations collectively were the 13th largest employer in the United States, powered by steady growth of tribal government gaming revenue. In the past three decades, overall per capita income of Native people on reservations had increased 48%, from tragically low poverty rates. For tribes, a skilled and trained workforce is required to compete economically. For individuals, education is the gateway to financial stability and economic mobility. For the...

The world’s largest online betting group, Flutter Entertainment, plans to fight a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling imposing more than $870 million in damages from an old lawsuit against one of the company’s newly-acquired subsidiaries. Shares in Flutter, which also owns the U.S. sports betting group FanDuel, slid more than 3% in London trading on Friday, as the market reacted carefully to a court decision that the company said came as a surprise. Read more here  

In May, a few months into the pandemic, the online gaming industry was seeing record highs in terms of overall revenue. As coronavirus cases have risen even higher since then, so have online casinos’ revenues. New Jersey hit a monthly record of $93.5 million in October revenue from online poker and online casinos, up 106.7% from October 2019. Pennsylvania saw its online casinos and poker rooms generate a record $59.8 million in gross operator revenue for October, a record for...

Both casino plans in the Stateline Area are still waiting on a final ruling as the Ho-Chunk Nation’s Beloit casino plan remains with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ office and the City of Rockford’s Hard Rock casino project is still under review by the Illinois Gaming Board. In Beloit, the Ho-Chunk plan remains on Evers’ desk, who is required to make a two-part ruling within one year of the plan receiving a favorable determination from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The...

The National Indian Gaming Association has been on top of the numbers since day one, hoping to protect the welfare of tribes across the nation. Chairman of the group, Ernest Stevens Jr., a Wisconsin Oneida Nation member, stated that gaming plays a big part as to what the tribe survives on. In many cases, if they do not have gaming, then they do not have money. Casinos in Wisconsin brought in almost $1.3 billion in gross revenues during the 2018-2019...