The Florida House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to give final approval to a gambling deal that would permit the Seminole Tribe to offer sports wagering in the US State and will see it going to the federal Department of the Interior.
The House passed the bill to enact the compact by a vote of 97-17, a day after the state’s Senate voted 39-1 on Tuesday to approve the measure.
The 30-year deal, known as a compact, was announced by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida last month. At least $2.5 billion will be received by the state over the following five years and an estimated $20 billion over the course of the 30 year deal. The tribe would be operating sports betting and would receive other benefits including permission to offer roulette and craps at its casinos.
Republican Randy Fine commented that it is a good deal for their state and that he did not know if they could get a better deal. He added that he has this deal and a closer path to a million and half dollars a day.
Democrats opposing the bill argued that the compact violates a state constitutional amendment preventing the expansion of gambling without voter approval and questioned whether it will survive a legal challenge. They added that the state could have made a better deal.
Democrat Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith said they are told that this compact does not violate Amendment 3 because it is not an expansion of gambling because of course sports betting on their phone app is happening through servers on tribal land.
Marcellus Osceola jr., Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, thanked Florida legislators and the governor.
Pragmatic Play has released a new online slot game titled ‘Cash Elevator’ that comes with an impressive 1930’s era design.
The high variance ‘Cash Elevator’ slot is played on 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 pay lines and players are required to land 3, 4 or 5 matching symbols or wilds from left to right on a pay line, starting from the leftmost reel, in order to create a winning combination.
The slot game is playable from between 20p and £100 per spin in desktop, mobile or tablet devices and has an RTP of 96.64%. Players can win up to 20,000 x their total stake from a single spin.
The setting of the slot game is a steampunk-style elevator in a vintage block of flats with the storyline focusing on two lovers who players endeavor to get back together.
Symbols on the reels include A to 9 Royals, a vintage car, luggage, a telephone, a key, a pocket watch and a black cat. The Cash Elevator building is the most lucrative symbol paying 2.5, 15 or 50 x a player’s total stake for landing 3, 4 or 5 on a pay line. The higher up players go up in the elevator the more ‘lower value’ symbols are removed from the grid.
Pragmatic Play’s ‘Cash Elevator’ slot game boasts 4 Bonus Features, namely a Cash Elevator feature, a Basement feature, a Dead Lovers Free Spins feature and a Hold and Spin feature.
The design of the slot game is excellent and the gameplay is packed full of innovative features.
Caesars Entertainment is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Major League Baseball franchise the Arizona Diamondbacks that will see the operator roll out sports betting in the southern state.
In terms of the partnership that has been agreed together with a broader deal with Major League Baseball, Caesars becomes an authorized gaming operator of the league and is given the rights to offer in-person and mobile wagering in Arizona.
Caesars will now have the opportunity to launch its mobile product across the state, and also open a new sportsbook and bar on a plaza next to the Diamondback’s Chase Field stadium.
The agreement will also see the operator become an exclusive Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy sponsor for the team that will allow its branding to appear on the team’s signage and digital assets.
This new deal follows Caesars closing its £2.9bn acquisition of William Hill in April and will see the non-US operations divested within a year as it endeavors to boost growth in sports betting and igaming.
Derek Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamondbacks, commented that they went through a thorough process to identify the ideal partner that would bring experience and the strongest reputation of legalized gaming.
He went on to say that Caesars is considered the cream of the crop and aligns with their philosophy when it comes to professionalism, brand presentation and customer treatment and brings its best in class William Hill mobile sports book product and retail sports betting expertise.
Hill also said that it is equally important that they went through their strong due diligence to find the industry leader in the education and execution of responsible gaming.
Leading iGaming aggregator and supplier of innovative content, Relax Gaming, is thrilled to announce that its Gibraltar Company, Relax Gaming Gibraltar Ltd, has received UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) approval for all of its products and services.
Praised as ‘another major commercial highlight’ the approval will result in more opportunities for growth in what the St Julian’s headquartered company feels is one of the world’s strongest iGaming markets.
The approval will see Relax Gaming’s library of unique casino games being made available to UK operators through its Gibraltar arm.
Relax has grown impressively in recent months and has already successfully transferred operator partners 32Red, Boylesports and BetVictor onto its Gibraltar network, with Entain’s UK brands, including Coral and Ladbrokes due to follow in the near future.
The company’s latest license follows its B2B license approval from the Gibraltar Licensing Authority. The company already holds licenses with the Malta Gaming Authority, the Romanian National Gaming Office (ONJN) and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, effectively ‘multiplying the points of supply for the regulated markets.
Tommi Maijala, the Chief Executive Officer at Relax Gaming, commented that following a fruitful relationship with the UKGC through their Malta-based company, having all their products and services approved for their Gibraltar branch is another major commercial highlight for them.
Maijala went on to say that its significance will be felt across the business, including by their valued third-party partners.
He also said that this license acquisition represents fresh opportunity in their drive to deliver excellence and growth across all regulated markets.
Penn National Gaming Inc. has announced that the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) – has approved the Company’s application to offer online sports wagering in Indiana.
Penn National intends launching its Barstool Sportsbook mobile app on iOS and android, as well as for desktop users at 10.00 a.m. CST on 18th May 2021, pending any final regulatory approvals.
Indiana will become the Company’s fourth online sports betting market once it goes live after having previously launched successfully in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan.
Jay Snowden, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Penn National, commented on the launch by saying that he would like to thank the IGC on behalf of the Penn Interactive team, their partners at Barstool Sports and their risk management and platform providers, for their approval of their online sports betting application.
He went on to say that they are thrilled to be launching their online Barstool Sportsbook in Indiana at the start of the NBA’s new playoff format.
Snowden also said that their retail Barstool Sportsbook at Ameristar Casino East Chicago and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg have been very well received by their customers since opening this past December, and now Hoosiers from across the state will be able to engage with Dave Portnoy, Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz and all of the Barstool personalities through the Barstool Sportsbook app.
Penn National anticipates offering several unique promotional wagers following the launch of the mobile Barstool Sportsbook in Indiana that includes risk-free bets, parlay insurance and a selection of wagering options related to the upcoming NBA Playoffs and Indianapolis 500.