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Legislators in #Texas are feverishly working to get both casinos & sports betting legalized within the state prior to the end of the legislative session in May. Two bills were introduced this week, one in the House & one in the Senate, & if they don't see action come may, they won't have another chance until 2023 when the legislative session resumes. As the proposed bills are focused on casino sports betting, they're actually not favored by the majority of sports organizations in the state who are more inclined towards the mobile sports betting market.

A bill legalizing sports betting in #Arizona is off to the Senate after passing in the House. The bill would allow for up to 20 licenses in the state with half going to professional teams & half going to tribal gaming enterprises. The intention is to have a mix of sports betting locations between stadiums & casinos while also offering online platforms for bettors who would rather stay at home.... The bill, which also legalizes daily fantasy sports, is viewed as a much-needed update to the existing tribal gaming compacts in the state. While there are two bills on sports betting circulating the Senate, it's unlikely we'll see either take effect if passed until 2022.

Even with most of the sports world operational again, table tennis is a top five sport in terms of sports betting handle in #Colorado. As leagues & organizations began to suspend or end their seasons in the midst of the pandemic, avid bettors began looking to international events taking place. Table tennis quickly became a fan favorite & according to January reports, table tennis was behind #NFL, #NBA & #NCAA basketball handle although it was ahead of the #NHL.... The state continues to break their previous records with nearly $330 million in wagers placed in the month with 97% coming from online sportsbook operators.

A potential legal battle could be in the works between #BarstoolSports & the #Superbook at #LasVegas' #WestgateResort. According to a cease & desist letter filed by a firm representing Westgate, #PennNational's Barstool Sportsbook is infringing on a statement that was trademarked in 2012. The statement, "GOOD TEAMS WIN, GREAT TEAMS COVER," was tweeted by the official Barstool company page twice- once following the initial cease & desist.... Per the firm, the fact Barstool continued to use the phrase after the first notice was sent means that there is an "intentional effort to trade on the goodwill associated with" the phrase. Barstool's founder, Dave Portnoy, has stated that he believes the claims are unfounded & saying that Westgate coined the phrase is akin to staking a claim to the question mark.

Red Mile, one of our clients in the #Kentucky racino industry, received some tremendous news from their state legislature as a bill protecting historical horse racing slots passed in both houses. Following pandemic related closures from early to mid 2020, Red Mile had to close their doors yet again in January after the state Supreme Court stated that historical horse racing slot games are not pari-mutuel. SB 120 flew through both houses & now it's off to Governor Andy Beshear...'s desk for a signature. All indications are that Beshear is in favor of the bill as the Democrat has been vocal about gaming expansion & sports betting in the state.

Over 23 million Americans are expected to place a bet on the #NFL's biggest game of the season according to the #AmericanGamingAssociation. The estimate is a bit down from last year's 26 million bettors despite the fact roughly 36 million people gained access to sports betting platforms in their state over the last year. The effects of the pandemic are likely to blame for the dip in bettors, but it is expected to boost the number of bets placed online.... According to the data, nearly 8 million people will be utilizing an online operator for any action on Sunday's game.

Sports betting is on the way for #Wyoming residents despite the fact the state itself hasn't passed any regulation on the matter. The Northern Arapaho Tribe will begin offering sports betting at their casino venues in Wyoming following a statement that their gaming is regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior & not the state. It's a similar scenario to how #NewMexico's sports betting program got started & it appears that #NorthDakota might be following suit.... North Dakota's Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians have a tribal compact which states the tribe can offer anything that isn't prohibited by #PASPA.

With the return of the #NFL & #NCAAF in September, #NewJersey's sports betting handle set a new record of nearly $750 million in the month. That figure bests August of 2020 by 12%, but the impressive growth is in perspective when considering it's a 68% increase from September of 2019. According to reports, $9 out of every $10 was wagered came from online betting platforms.... It's a promising sign for a sports betting market that has been hammered by the fallout of the current world events & those figures could be even stronger if more conferences were began their 2020 seasons in the month. For a look at the forecast for the state, check out this piece from #LegalSportsReport.

As the sports betting landscape in the US continues to take shape, #Fanduel & #DraftKings are emerging as the country's most recognizable & trusted brands. In legal states, roughly six percent of residents use or plan to use one of the two sites for their sports wagering needs. For frame of reference, #SkyBet, the UK's most popular sports betting site, sees about 4.5% of UK residents- roughly 2 million people.... #PennGaming's venture with #BarstoolSports is currently just behind the former daily fantasy giants in terms of brand awareness & figures are setting up for a strong first year of operation for the brand.

Throughout our time working in the #casino industry, clients have sought us out for highly interactive touchscreen promotions & games. With the current world events, we've been working alongside our partners to bring that same level of engagement to a #touchfree environment. Within this year, we've updated all of our promotions to minimize contact while still providing a sense of reward to guests.... Additionally, we've been able to develop completely new promotions for clients like Red Mile from ground up in under a month. Check out some of the changes we've made in efforts to minimize the spread of pathogens on the floor.

#Tennessee issued their first three sports betting operator licenses this week ahead of the launch of the state's program this November. #BetMGM, #DraftKings & #FanDuel received their online-only licenses & more licenses will be granted in the coming weeks. It has been a bit slow going for the state as six other states have legalized & launched their own programs since Tennessee legalized sports betting in May of 2019.... While the state's licensing fees are a bit lower than other states, Tennessee is the only state with a mandated hold for operators.

Sports betting handle reached a record $365 million in #Pennsylvania in August as sports began to make a return. That figure normally wouldn't stand out given the lack of sporting events on the calendar due to the current world events, but it's an increase of over 230% from August of 2019. As expected, the majority of the action came from online operators with 88% of all bets placed in the state in the month.... #FanDuel, #Draftkings, #RushStreet, #FOXBet & #PennNational' are currently the main operators in the state. Penn's partnership with #BarstoolSports for #BarstoolSportsbooks opened for business this week amid rising stock increases for the brand.

One of the biggest pain points we hear from our #dispensary partners focuses on the amount of time that's dedicated to maintaining their ancillary systems on top of their POS & storefront. Menus need to be replicated across sites like #Weedmaps & #Leafly, data collection needs to get uploaded into a #CRM or a marketing program like #Mailchimp or #Sprout, etc. Not to mention the fact that prior to this, you're going to have to tackle to hurdles of getting your storefront & pro...ducts online. Luckily, there are countless integrations that can cut down on the amount of time you'd need to dedicate to managing everything on its own. Take a look at some of what's possible & examine whether you can strengthen your operations with a few integrations.

As businesses continue to hone their processes of contactless operation, we're covering the factors that comprise a curbside pick-up service that's built to grow. Curbside services were admittedly foreign to many business prior to 2020, but with city & county mandates, it's been the only opportunity for some to reopen their doors. Adjusting to a new way of conducting sales will have hurdles, so it's essential to have the ability to fine-tune aspects like when your curbside se...rvice is available or how many pick-up time slots you have in an hour. Get a look at some other factors which need to be considered as we reflect on the development of our curbside pick-up suite.

#WordPress sites currently comprise 35% of all websites & their eCommerce platform, #WooCommerce, is running over five million online storefronts. The combination has become our go-to for content management & connected retail experiences in the cannabis industry for many reasons. The customization is staggering when you have a talented development team & it's clearly been stress tested across all those active installs.... A strong online storefront has never been more important for brick & mortar establishments- check out the reasons we highly recommend using WordPress & WooCommerce along with some of the custom work our team has produced!

Blogs are a highly under-utilized tool that forward thinking dispensaries have used to craft their brand identity. A well-designed blog is not only a treasure trove of information for visitors, it creates a reason to reach out to your subscribers with each release & thoughtful posts will improve a site's ranking in Google as they gain backlinks. When pairing our years of marketing experience with our work in the cannabis industry, we've been helping dispensaries establish the...ir online presence, distinguishing their brand from the competition. Get a look at some of the trends we're seeing along with the best practices for getting a blog up & rolling in the piece below.

This week, we're taking a look back on what 2020 has meant for the #cannabis industry thus far & why it's absolutely integral to have a technology partner as business evolves. The current world events have widely affected every industry & for cannabis- data has shown that sales figures are growing feverishly. Without systems in place to facilitate operational efficiency, some dispensaries are finding themselves losing customers & struggling to maintain their status in the mar...ket. Check out this post to learn more about what we're doing with our dispensary partners & their connected retail platforms.

#BarstoolSports will launch their sports betting app in #Pennsylvania this September- hopefully prior to the start of the 2020 #NFL season. The media company was purchased by #PennNational, a casino gaming operator with over 40 stateside properties, at the tail end of January earlier this year. Barstool & Penn opted to launch in September opposed to August because they feel they have a compelling enough product which will withstand competition.... Barstool is currently running several free-to-play promotions under their #PlayBarstool brand as a way to stir up interest.

Our latest web development project just went live with the launch of THCSD's new site on Thursday. The project showcases some of our finest development & creative work as we partnered with their team to make a seamless connected retail experience for their customers. The #WordPress site utilizes #WooCommerce for its storefront & features several plugins we coded specifically for this redesign.... Along with our slider plugins that make shopping a breeze, we implemented a full curbside ordering & pick-up system after #SanDiego dispensaries were permitted to offer the service. Additionally, the site interfaces with #Treez, their #cannabis POS system, to make sure that customers are seeing exactly what's in stock in real-time. Check out their site to see what all we accomplished & if you're a #dispensary in need of anything from blog content to a full site redesign- reach out for more info.

It's been a turbulent off-season for the #NFL & the #NFLPA as they attempt to navigate all the usual (and the more unusual) obstacles on top of everything leading up to a season in the throes of a pandemic. In the hopes of serving players after they've left the field, the NFLPA has partnered with two firms to offer courses on responsible betting & the integrity of the sport. Current players are banned from betting on any NFL games, but that hasn't stopped several from trying.... Additionally, anyone who has watched the #ESPN #30for30 documentary "Broke" knows that athletes can be prone to squandering their money. Check out more on the program in this piece from #LegalSportsReport.