Gaming

Research Brief: SCOTUS Repeal of PASPA

Posted on May 14, 2018

Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on the constitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (“PASPA”) in the Murphy v. NCAA case overturning the law and allowing sports betting to move forward in the United States. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court also provided a victory for states’ rights. Today’s ruling allows commercial entities in states and Native American tribes to move forward to conduct sports wagering.

The Murphy v. NCAA case was heard by the Court in December. At the time, Global Market Advisors (GMA) had predicted that the court would rule in favor of states’ rights and sports betting on a 6 – 3 vote supporting New Jersey’s argument. The opinion of the Court issued today was led by Justice Samuel Alito and supported by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Neil Gorsuch, Elena Kagan, and Anthony Kennedy. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion. The dissenting opinion was issued by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Breyer joined the dissenting opinion on a small portion of the overall opinion from the court.

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Cash Back to Free Play

Posted on April 16, 2018

Non-negotiable slot credits, or what is more commonly known as “free play,” has emerged as the most often-used tool in the casino marketing arsenal. It has supplanted cash prizes, complimentary dining and invitations to special events as the primary incentive for rewarding player loyalty.

Its use, along with its occasional over-use, has had a profound effect on the slot-machine gaming experience, and while free play certainly has a wealth of benefits, both to casino operators and players, its prolific use has had unintended and often deleterious effects on both parties.

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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.

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Deep Dive: The Future of Sports Betting in the United States

Posted on February 16, 2018

As the nation awaits the upcoming decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in Christie v. NCAA, various stakeholders are evaluating their next steps, and how to maximize the revenue potential from legalized sports betting.

Today, a federal law known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) limits most legal sports betting to Nevada and three other states. This article examines the critical success factors for sports wagering in the United States and the operators that will be best positioned to provide the products and services that sports wagering customers will seek.

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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.

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The Millennial Is Not Your Customer

Posted on November 27, 2017

Millennial has become the new buzzword and focus of the gaming industry and commerce as a whole.

What do millennials like? How do we design our product to attract millennials? Should we serve only organic food in our restaurants and provide beard trimmers in our bathrooms?
Some casinos believe that millennials prefer table games over slots. Or, for slots, millennials will like skill-based games, so money should be invested in skill-based pits. Despite many casinos trying to attract millennials, not one casino has succeeded in a meaningful way.

The reason is that millennials will not be valuable casino customers for another 20 years

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An Examination of sports betting in America

Posted on November 15, 2017

On December 4, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) will hear New Jersey’s case to have the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”) overturned. This review of PASPA, which effectively limits legal sports betting to only the state of Nevada, and to a lesser extent Delaware, Montana, and Oregon, has the potential to be a landmark states’ rights decision. To the gaming and hospitality industry, it has the potential to allow for another source of gaming entertainment and improve profit levels for operators. To government authorities, it has the potential to reduce illegal gaming activities and increase tax revenues.

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Expanding Hospitality

Posted on August 16, 2017

In this, our second in a series of discussions about the role of non-gaming amenities in both destination and regional gaming markets, we focus on the extraordinary and ongoing evolution of hotels, and how to assess, strategize and implement change.

The “lens” we use is comprised of five attributes that, when integrated, provide operators with a framework to create a comprehensive strategy for developing a new hotel or rebranding and refurbishing an existing one: the strategic assessment lens. This approach has helped several operators create new development and rebranding strategies for successful restaurants, bars, nightlife, entertainment and retail venues, casinos and hotels.

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Changing the Face of the Industry

Posted on July 25, 2017

In this, our second in a series of discussions about the role of non-gaming amenities in both destination and regional gaming markets, we focus on the extraordinary and ongoing evolution of hotels, and how to assess, strategize and implement change.

The “lens” we use is comprised of five attributes that, when integrated, provide operators with a framework to create a comprehensive strategy for developing a new hotel or rebranding and refurbishing an existing one: the strategic assessment lens. This approach has helped several operators create new development and rebranding strategies for successful restaurants, bars, nightlife, entertainment and retail venues, casinos and hotels.

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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.

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