Chris Altruda has been a sportswriter with ESPN, The Associated Press, and STATS over more than two decades. He recently expanded into covering sports betting and gambling around the Midwest.
Indiana became the fourth state to surpass $3 billion in sports betting handle in the post-PASPA era, with bettors placing more than $316.7 million in wagers in the month of March according to the state’s Gaming Commission.
→A fifth person tied to the illegal sports betting ring connected to the brother of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher pled guilty to a charge of conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling business.
→The White Sox look to be the talk of the town in Chicago, where high expectations have them garnering more attention for bettors than the Cubs with the first pitch of 2021 drawing near.
→FuboTV, looking to bolster its attractiveness to Iowa and Indiana bettors ahead of a sportsbook launch later this year, announced a carriage agreement with Marquee Sports Network to livestream Cubs games.
→Canadian-based sportsbook theScore secured market access to Illinois on Monday, reaching agreement on a 10-year deal with Caesars to be the mobile operator for Harrah’s Joliet Casino.
→Aided by an increase in capacity limits, Illinois’ 10 casinos nearly tripled their revenue in February to $78 million while revenue from the state’s 38,000-plus video gaming terminals soared to more than $170 million.
→Horseshoe Hammond reached a $100,000 settlement with the Indiana Gaming Commission for allowing an underage person to enter the casino last November, the largest of any settlements announced by the state’s regulatory body.
→Hard Rock announced a May 14 opening date for its Gary casino and has moved close to an agreement for a “rocksino” in Terre Haute.
→New Illinois Racing Board Commissioner Alan Henry criticized Churchill Downs for its announced sale of Arlington International Racecourse.
→BetMGM and Buffalo Wild Wings are looking to add to the fun of March Madness via sports wagering on the restaurant’s mobile app.
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