Brendan Bussmann

Research Brief: The Economics of Sports Betting

Posted on April 2, 2018

As the United States awaits a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (“PASPA”) in the Murphy v. NCAA case, stakeholders are busy evaluating the size of the sports betting market opportunity and contemplating how to take advantage of the opportunity. Several government stakeholders have already enacted legislation
regarding the potential for sports betting, including the most recent legislation passed in Pennsylvania (2017) and West Virginia (2018). Many other state governments have introduced
proposed legislation for the new potential market opportunity, including Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Connecticut.

These enacted and proposed legislative pieces have begun to shape the potential regulatory framework of a legalized sports betting market in each state, including setting tax rates and
licensing fees. Other stakeholders, including the professional sports leagues, have suggested that an integrity (royalty) fee should be levied as well. Unfortunately, some of these proposed taxes and levies do not fit within the economic construct of the sports betting opportunity as the margins achieved in the industry are too slim for the operator to generate enough profit to justify investment.

View Full Article Read More

Research Brief: U.S. Supreme Court Sports Betting Update

Posted on December 4, 2017

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard the Christie v. NCAA case. SCOTUS listened to arguments from former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, representing Governor Christie and the State of New Jersey. The NCAA case was led by former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who defended that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) should remain the law by upholding the Third Circuit Court of Appeals previous decision.

Based on the arguments, Global Market Advisors (GMA) believes that if a vote were held today, SCOTUS would vote 6-3 in favor of New Jersey, thereby repealing PASPA and overruling the lower court decision. The majority opinion would include Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Breyer, Gorsuch, and Kennedy. Those five, in addition to Justice Thomas, who seldom asks questions within the court, but tends to side with the more conservative judges, appeared skeptical of the argument presented by the NCAA.

View Full Article Read More

Research Brief: Japan Post-Election IR Bill Update

Posted on October 24, 2017

The Japanese snap election for the lower house has concluded. The Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came out on top after a very calculated risk. The LDP
has a majority win in the House of Representatives and, in partnership with the Komeito, now have a two-thirds super majority. This will allow the ruling parties to push their agenda forward,
focusing on several key items including the reallocation of taxes, childcare, preschool education, and the initiation of constitutional revisions. This is in addition to dealing with the labor crunch and the low birthrate that affect Japan’s economy.

In addition and most importantly to the gaming and hospitality industry, it allows for the continued development of Integrated Resorts through the expected passage of the IR Implementation Bill after the passage of the Responsible Gaming Bill in the coming months to a year. IRs will infuse capital projects into the country while serving as a driver to help meet Japan’s
goal of tourism growth.

View Full Article Read More

Research Brief: Sports Betting & Recent U.S. State Legislative Action

Posted on July 17, 2017

As the calendar reaches the midpoint, many state legislatures are adjourning for the summer or finalizing their budgets prior to the start of the fiscal year. The end of June is also the time when the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) term comes to an end, decisions are rendered, and announcements made for cases to be taken up in the next term that begins in October. GMA provides the following summary of relevant legislative happenings across the United States.

Last week, SCOTUS changed the dialogue within the United States gaming landscape when it announced that it would hear the New Jersey sports betting case (Christie Vs. NCAA) in its next term. Currently, only Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon allow some form of sports betting. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that the illegal, unregulated sports betting market is a $150 billion-a-year industry. Many estimate that number to be far greater. While most in the industry see this as an opportunity on sports betting, a ruling by SCOTUS in this case has far more to do with states’ rights than wagering on sports.

View Full Article Read More

Research Brief: The 2016 US Election

Posted on November 7, 2016

The United States’ Election Day is upon us and by this time tomorrow the U.S. will know who has won one of the most divisive races in the nation’s history. As world awaits the results of the election, GMA has provided the following snapshot of some key items the gaming and hospitality industry should watch for as the evening unfolds.

View Full Article Read More

But Did the Casino Make Any Money?

Posted on December 16, 2003

At a recent presentation of casino performance before the tribal council, the casino manager distributed handouts illustrating gaming activity. “Handle is up,” he proclaimed as the council members examined bar charts showing year over year handle growth. “Business is growing. The casino is experiencing consistent increases in handle from prior years. We’re driving revenue.”

The casino’s marketing director then walked the council through an analysis of recently completed direct mail campaigns, special events and promotions. For each of these campaigns the marketing director presented a profit and loss statement showing the profit made. “Our direct mail program has been very successful. Marketing has been able to drill down into the database and mine very profitable customers. Our theoretical win continues to improve and for each direct mail campaign, we have been able to generate on average, theoretical win in excess of 75% of expenses. Our marketing is working.”

View Full Article Read More

The Casino Marketing Plan: Objectives, Strategies and Action Plans

Posted on May 16, 2002

Last month this column focused on the first part of the casino marketing plan: conducting a thorough situation analysis in order to understand current and anticipated market conditions, the competition and the customer. Having performed this analysis, a casino marketing team can now focus on the development of realistic goals and objectives, a strategy that will achieve them and the specific action plans that become the marketing department’s “to do” list.

Too often the marketing team loses sight of the property’s mission. Operating a tribal gaming enterprise is more than about making money. It is about improving the quality of life for tribal members, providing security for future generations, offering employees opportunities for growth, and being a responsible member of the community. The marketing mission statement flows from the tribal mission but is also based on current market conditions. Once the team has prepared its situation analysis it is ready to develop the marketing mission d1at will guide the department’s efforts through the next year.

View Full Article Read More