Law and Politics

LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets are a sleeper pick to win the Southeast Division. (Image: Neil Redmond/USA Today Sports)

North Carolina Senate Leader Expects Sports Betting Talks This Year

The North Carolina Senate leader said last week that he expects lawmakers to discuss sports betting legislation later this session. As the state Senate completes its work this week before its Fourth of July break, it will focus on other issues such as critical race theory and masks in schools. […]

Ohio Sen. Niraj Antani moved his sports betting efforts to another bill after House Republicans tanked his legislation with controversial transgender athlete legislation. (Image: The Economic Standard)

Lawmakers Keep Ohio Sports Betting Bill Alive with Political Maneuvers

The same kind of political maneuvering that hurt gamblers with the passage of an anti-online poker bill in 2006 might benefit potential Ohio sports betting in 2021. Legislators who want to legalize sports wagers in the state moved their efforts to an unrelated bill (House Bill 29) dealing with creating […]

The Maine Legislature sent sports betting legislation to the governor this week, and they await to see if she will sign it after vetoing a bill last year. (Image: Portland Press Herald)

Maine Sports Betting Bill Awaits Governor’s Signature

Maine legislators finally crafted sports betting legislation amenable to most of the state Legislature, but now the bill may face its biggest stumbling block – Gov. Janet Mills. Lawmakers finalized the legislation during a special session last week. The sports betting bill would allow both online and brick-and-mortar wagers on […]

Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield celebrates Jarvis Landry throwing a TD on a trick play against the Dallas Cowboys. (Image: John Kuntz/AP)

Ohio Sports Betting Moves Step Closer to Reality

After a long battle in the state Senate, a bill that would legalize sports betting in Ohio passed that state body of government this week. Senate Bill 176 passed by a nearly unanimous vote of 30-2, but only after numerous committee meetings and amendments molded it into legislation that was […]

The Woodbine Racetrack gates open June 18. The Canadian track was shuttered due to a provincial COVID-19-related stay-at-home order issued in April. (Image: Woodbine Entertainment)

After Provincial COVID Shutdown, Woodbine Opens its Gates June 18

The resumption of horse racing in Canada has a finish line, with Thursday’s announcement that Woodbine Racetrack will open for Thoroughbred racing on Friday, June 18. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the suburban Toronto track and its Standardbred sister track, Woodbine Mohawk Park, remained shut down under Government of Ontario […]

Bob Baffert won't be at Pimlico for Saturday's Preakness Stakes. But Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit will be. (Image: FoxNews.com)

Medina Spirit Entered in Preakness; Could Ointment be the Culprit?

Under an agreement reached between embattled trainer Bob Baffert and the Maryland Jockey Club, Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will start in Saturday’s 146th Preakness Stakes. The announcement came shortly after Baffert issued a statement where he said the cause for Medina Spirit’s positive test for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone could […]

Trainer Bob Baffert, jockey John Velazquez and owner Amr Zedan celebrate Medina Spirit's Kentucky Derby victory last Saturday. The celebration may end after the horse tested positive for an excessive amount of an anti-inflammatory. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Baffert’s Derby Winner Medina Spirit Tests Positive for Anti-Inflammatory

Horse racing and the face of horse racing – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert – took two more punches to their collective integrity Sunday when Kentucky Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug, betamethasone. Baffert confirmed the test to reporters in an impromptu press conference at […]

Former Charlotte Hornets player Muggsy Bogues joined other athletes and professional sports team executives this week in advocating for sports betting in North Carolina. (Image: HowTheyPlay.com)

Former Hornets Players Support North Carolina Sports Betting Effort

Two former members of the Charlotte Hornets have joined the fight for legalizing sports betting in North Carolina. Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry joined team president Fred Whitfield, as well as Carolina Hurricanes president Don Waddell, in visiting with state lawmakers to tout the benefits of legal wagering in the […]

Ohio state Sen. Kirk Schuring said Monday he plans to introduce a sports betting bill on Thursday. (Image: Canton Repository)

Ohio Sports Betting Bill Coming This Week

A state senator said Monday that he plans to introduce a sports betting bill in the Ohio Legislature on Thursday. Ohio Sen. Kirk Schuring said on 1450 WHBC Monday morning that he’s working “very diligently” on the bill in conjunction with Senate Majority Leader Matt Huffman. “It’s right now 250 […]

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida recently agreed to a new gaming compact, paving the way for expanded gambling in the state.. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Florida Sports Betting Moves Closer to Reality

The Florida Legislature could move this week to approve a compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe that would introduce online sports betting to the Sunshine State. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the tribe signed a new gaming compact on Friday that includes a provision to allow the Seminoles to […]

Joe Bravo and King for a Day beat Maximum Security to win the 2019 Pegasus Cup. A Monmouth Park fixture and 12-time riding champion, Bravo may not ride at the New Jersey track this year because of a new restriction on riding crop usage. (Image: Taylor Ejdys/Equi-Photo)

New Jersey Jockeys Whipped Into Mutiny Over New Crop Rule

A jockeys’ mutiny for Monmouth Park’s upcoming racing season is brewing after the Superior Court of New Jersey declined a request to stay the New Jersey Racing Commission’s riding crop ban. Three jockeys, including 13-time Monmouth riding champion Joe Bravo, told Thoroughbred Daily News they will not ride at Monmouth […]

The University of North Carolina nearly upset No. 1 Clemson, and as a result AP Top 25 voters dropped the Tigers to No. 2. (Image: AP)

North Carolina Senators File Online Sports Betting Bill

A new North Carolina Senate bill would permit online sports betting in the state, and would also allow wagering at professional sports facilities. Senate Bill 688, sponsored by senators Jim Perry and Paul Lowe, would permit up to 12 online licenses in North Carolina. It would also allow sports facilities […]

The College Football National Championship game on Monday features Alabama and Ohio State, both of whom have potent offenses. (Image: USA Today Sports)

Alabama Considers Far-Reaching Lottery, Casino and Sports Betting Bill

Weeks after it appeared, a plan to allow Alabama residents to vote on legalizing a cornucopia of gaming had died. Now, new legislation is resurrecting the concept. The Alabama Senate passed a package of bills last week that could establish a lottery, casino gaming, and both live and online sports […]

The Arizona Senate easily passed a retail and online sports betting bill on Monday evening, leaving only the governor's signature to make wagers legal in the state this year. (Image: KNAU)

Legal Arizona Sports Betting Should Happen by Football Season

Legislation that would permit online and brick-and-mortar sports betting in Arizona passed the Arizona Senate on Monday, paving the way for legal wagers in the state by the fall, pending the governor’s signature. Arizona legislators moved the companion bills Senate Bill 1797 and House Bill 2772 through their chambers, with […]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced a fiscal year 2022 budget on Tuesday that includes a plan for online sports betting. (Image: Vanity Fair)

New York Announces Plan to Legalize Online Sports Betting

New York announced its budget for fiscal year 2022 on Tuesday, and it includes legal online sports betting. The Empire State’s plan will be more restrictive than most, however, as the state will control the action rather than allow private casinos to run the games. State will control online sports […]

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo prevailed over state legislators on a mobile sports wagering bill. Horse racing tracks, arenas, stadiums and other non-casino venues were not included in the agreement, part of a state budget bill. (Image: Al Bello/Getty)

New York Mobile Sports Wagering Coming, Horse Racing Not Going Along

A bid to include horse racing in New York’s mobile sports wagering law didn’t make it into the final draft agreed upon by state legislators and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The mobile sports wagering agreement, which will become part of a state budget plan, allows online wagering on college […]

A sports betting bill sailed through the Wyoming Senate this month, and now awaits the governor's signature before becoming law. (Image: Wyoming Capitol Square Project)

Legalized Wyoming Sports Betting Now Likely After Senate OKs Bill

Sports betting in Wyoming now has a clear path to legalization after the state Senate handily passed a bill establishing parameters for wagers in the state. On Monday, the Senate passed House Bill 133 by a 24-5 vote with one abstention after only minor revisions to the legislation. The bill […]