The latest episode of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show saw William J. Pascrell lll – Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group – shine a light on the evolution of the regulated gambling sector in North America.
It comes as the regulatory framework in the region continues to grow, with New York recently putting forward plans to legislate igaming.
Reflecting on the significance of PASPA being overturned and the market’s embracing of betting and gaming, Pascrell told the Safe Bet Show host: “Every brick & mortar casino who I had as clients, when I got into this, fired me. They didn’t want sports betting and online betting. Fast forward to today If it wasn’t for those two things, most of the brick-and-mortar casinos would’ve been closed.”
Looking at how the market has grown and the US has continued its embracing of the igaming sector, he added: “I’ve always said Europeans and the Israelis are the genius of the software programmes and packages with online gaming because they’ve been doing it for decades – certainly not America. But what Europeans and a lot of Israelis don’t appreciate is the importance of politics in America for gaming. Also, the sports betting excitement has taken a lot of air out of the room, that’s the focus.
“I’ve always said that the industry in America is changing now, but five years ago brick-and-mortar casinos couldn’t walk and chew gum. They couldn’t handle the multiple-pronged approach. We’re now seeing iterations of different innovations – esports, the entrance of cryptos, NFTs, fixed odds horse racing – which has been going on in other parts of the world for a long time.”
Looking ahead to where legislation will likely open up, he continued: “Texas has no casinos. Nothing other than a lottery. And they do have horse racing. Texas is starting to talk earnestly with the leagues and the team there to do a bill. The problem is they meet annually. So, the entire year of 2022 we can be working there, but nothing can happen.
“Florida, we have this issue with the Seminole pact governor DeSantis’s approach to that. It’s going to get sorted in one of two ways. They will either get a ballot or the circuit court will overrule the federal district court in terms of the interpretations of what’s required under the federal Indian gaming act.
“We’re going to have a ballot referendum in California, that is obviously the crown jewel – it’s the eight largest economy in the world.”
