Trends, News & Interesting Reads

Facebook Gaming is changing the online casino gaming sector in a number of meaningful ways. Focus on diversity including new ways of marketing plus cloud offers are only the tip of the iceberg.

Playing casino sign up bonus games is regarded by many as a frivolous pastime which simply provides diversion, amusement and entertainment. New research, however, shows that playing video and online casino games is an excellent way for people to challenge their cognitive abilities, grow brain cells, treat disorders and change the way that they think. 

Even before March 2020, all sectors of the Vegas Casino gaming industry – brick-and-mortar casino gambling, sports betting, esports, online casino sites, video gaming, etc – were seeing slow but steady growth.

Despite slapping a 36% tax on gross sports wagering revenue, Pennsylvania is number three in the country in retail and online casino sports betting action. Pennsylvania joined the list of Vegas casino online and retail sports betting states in May 2019 and since that time, has seen its revenues increasing  from one month to the next.

Revenues for global esports are expected to grow to $1.1 billion this year. That’s up from $950.6 million in 2019 and accounts for a healthy year-on-year growth of +15.7%. There’s a growing legal field of online casino esports law that is evolving to meet some of the questions about legal areas that the new sector has raised. They include licensing and privacy law, intellectual property law, publicity rights, welcome bonus casino live events, advertising and endorsements, gambling regulation and more.  There are still few legal professionals who are experienced in these areas as they apply to esports but as the industry grows, the importance of this specialty is becoming more apparent.

Betting on political races in the United States is illegal but the global online casino / sports betting market cleaned up this year. The election was the most heavily bet-on event of the year, both in the UK and throughout Europe and the shock waves are still being felt.

There were many famous historical figures who liked to gamble.  Claude Monet won enough playing the French lottery that he was able to quit his job to paint. The famous Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote a book The Gambler based on his struggles with gambling that left him in debt.  Henry VIII played with anyone and everyone, including commoners while King Charles II was a gambling tactician. Queen Marie Antoinette learned to gamble from her mother who wanted her daughter to know how to “earn” her own money.  Even American presidents including Harry Truman, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Richard Nixon were enthusiastic bettors.

Daily Fantasy Sports operators examining their operation regarding how to challenge the IRS regarding a recent IRS ruling that, for tax purposes, welcome bonus casino DFS is gambling.   The issue was first raised 4 months ago when the IRS ruled that DFS players may deduct their entry fees against any winnings BUT that online casino DFS operators must calculate the fees as a “wagering transaction” and pay tax on those fees. 

Tribal casinos are struggling to balance keeping their staff and customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic with providing desperately-needed income for their tribes. One option could be to offer no deposit bonus codes to new players.

Three new states voted to bring retail and online casino sports betting to their jurisdictions, bringing the number of American states with some form of casino sign up bonus sports betting legislation to 23.  With the addition of Louisiana, Maryland and South Dakota, almost half of US states have made it legal to take retail or online casino sports bets in the state.