Eric Uribe

Like many other industries, in-person casinos and sports betting took a major hit during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Casinos shut-down. Hotels shut down. Tourism was scuttled. Domestic and international travel became a headache. And truth be told, the gambling industry is still dealing with the ramifications of it all, as the pandemic has yet to truly end. At the same time, there are signs things in the industry could be returning to normal. But what does that look like?

DraftKings, an online sportsbook that made its name in daily fantasy sports, has reportedly put in a $22.4 billion bid for Entain, a sports gaming company located in the United Kingdom. While the transaction has puzzled some, the mere attempt by DraftKings says a great deal about how online sportsbooks will try to operate moving forward.

After a long, arduous wait, Florida is currently set to join the legalized sports betting ranks in the coming weeks. Maybe. A new lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room that would block both the launch of on-site and online sports betting for non-tribal casinos. Though this development doesn't necessarily threaten the future of legal betting in Florida, it does stand to delay the timeline. And we're here to explore why.

Maryland signed legal sports betting into law back in May. And since August, it has been all systems go as they try to accelerate the implementation of an industry they left previously untouched. This process by which they've sped things up has led to some interesting questions and revelations. Let's discuss them, shall we?

After a long wait, legal sports betting is officially being rolled out in Connecticut. With some casinos already in place, on-site wagers are just about ready to be placed. Green lighting online betting is expected to take a little more time, but not much more. It is a matter of days or weeks rather than months. How is Connecticut getting it done? What does it all mean? Let's break it down.

Legalized single-game sports betting is coming to Arizona at the beginning of September. However, in order to optimize the process for prospective gamblers, the state is offering early access to account registration and deposits—a smart move that profiles as a blueprint for other regions that follow suit in the future.

Legal sports betting has taken off in the United States since roughly 2018. Though not every state has adopted it, the green light has become increasingly common. When looking at the revenue each state has earned over the past few years after legalizing sports betting, it's not all that hard to see why.

Until now, so much of the focus when it comes to legalized sports betting has been location-based. Where are sports betting legal? Which states are on the verge of making it legal? Why isn't it legal everywhere? Will it eventually be legal everywhere? Beyond those questions is what happens after legalized sports betting actually gets implemented. Inevitably, it changes the professional sports experience. And that's never been more clear than it is now.

DraftKings has been on the rise for quite some time and has only gained more momentum as the United States continues to legalize sports betting across most regions. However, their recent purchase of Golden Nugget Online may be their most aggressive, perhaps even most noteworthy, play yet. Let's break down what it all means for the sports-betting community at large, shall we?

Legal sports betting continues to get implemented in higher volume around the United States. One of the first places to join the fray was Illinois, which moved to green light wagering all the way back in 2019. But as of mid-2021, the legalization of sports betting across the larger state has not yet applied to Chicago. Could that soon change? Let's find out.

Parlay betting has been legal in Canada for quite some time, but single-event wagering has always been excluded. With the Senate passing Bill C-218, however, it seems that this is all about to change. 

As of April 30, after making their first expansion payment, the Seattle Kraken is officially the 30th team to join the NHL. So...now what? The expansion draft. It is a mere few weeks away, and everyone's wondering who the Kraken will pick, who will be off-limits and what this could mean for the league long term. 

For most of the NHL, the offseason is already underway, which means that the draft, free agency, and just next season, in general, are their primary concerns. And while some squads finished 2020-21 on an encouraging or indifferent, others are facing wholesale questions that could culminate in their tearing down the current structure of their roster. Let's have a look at the 2021-22 NHL teams that should decline.

Seventeen-year NHL veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has been in his share of big games. He's no stranger to pressure. He's thrived amid it in the past. In the Vegas Golden Knights' Game 3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, though, it was a different story. He made a costly mistake that ended up fast-tracking his team toward a pivotal loss, and the fallout from it could be monumental.

Back in April, Arizona signed a bill that would officially legalize sports betting in various forms across the state. The move comes after initial resistance, and it still needs to go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but the official green light is considered a formality. Why did Arizona make this move now? And what does this mean for the state and bettors moving forward? Let's talk about it.

Initially billed as Stanley Cup favorites, the Colorado Avalanche fell out of the championship chase in the second round. It wasn't just their loss to the Vegas Golden Knights; second-round exits happen. It was instead the manner in which they bowed out that was so concerning, and it has set the stage for a tumultuous offseason in Colorado.

After initially showing some resistance to the idea that the laws and restrictions placed upon mobile sports betting should be expanded, Washington recently passed a bill that would allow residents easier access to placing wagers. Though an exact timeline has yet to be hashed out, making it this far is a good sign—and a stark departure from Washington's stance in 2020.

Though a large chunk of the NHL and their fans are immersed in the race for the 2021 Stanley Cup, the offseason is already underway for a bunch of organizations. That means free-agency and trade rumors are being bandied about the hockey sphere. So, you better believe we've pored over the latest news and speculation and singled out the most notable chatter to analyze.