Law and Politics

Administrative Tasks Push Michigan Online Sports Betting to Early 2021

Administrative Tasks Push Michigan Online Sports Betting to Early 2021

Michigan residents looking to pass the time by placing their first online sports bets will have to wait until after the ball drops at the start of 2021. At the start of December, the Michigan Gaming Control Board hoped fast-tracking administrative rules could potentially open the state up for online […]

Oregon Sports Betting Reports Record Two Months, Still Falls Short of Promise

Oregon Sports Betting Reports Record Two Months, Still Falls Short of Promise

While New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Indiana all enjoyed record-breaking months in sports betting handle this fall, Oregon has quietly had its own promising, yet very low-key, spree. September and October have been the biggest months yet since Oregon legalized sports betting in August 2019. The Oregon Lottery posted its […]

Furosimide, sold under the name Salix or Lasix, prevents pulmonary bleeding in horses. It is now banned in all Kentucky Derby points races, along with the Derby itself. (Image: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse)

You’ll See a Lasix-Free Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in 2021

The 2021 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will mark the first time in the history of those prestigious races that horses may run without furosemide, better known by its brand name Lasix. The ban on the powerful anti-bleeding medication, widely employed at tracks all over the country, extends to the […]

Canada's flagship track, Woodbine outside Toronto, benefited from the removal of a controversial provision in a sports betting bill. That bill is making its way through the Canadian government. (Image: Bill Selwyn)

Canadian Horseracing Benefits From Removal of Fixed-Odds Provision

Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson, one of Canada’s most powerful horseracing executives, praised Canadian legislators for removing a provision in a sports betting bill that would leave racetracks out of revenue earned from fixed-odds wagering on horseracing. The element in question would have legalized fixed-odds wagering on horseracing without revenue-sharing […]

Rising Political Star Arrested for Taking Bribes to Bring Sports Betting to Cincy

Rising Political Star Arrested for Taking Bribes to Bring Sports Betting to Cincy

Federal authorities arrested Cincinnati mayoral frontrunner PG Sittenfeld last Thursday for allegedly accepting $40,000 in bribes in exchange for bringing an exclusive sports betting deal to his hometown, court documents say. If convicted, prosecutors say Sittenfeld, 36, faces up to 20 years in prison. FBI Tapped Former Bengals Safety in […]

Crowded Field Yields Significant Sports Betting Uptick in the Rockies

Crowded Field Yields Significant Sports Betting Uptick in the Rockies

Like New Jersey, Illinois, and Indiana, Colorado has reported record increases in online gambling this fall as a bevy of sportsbook operators custom-tweak apps and websites to gain credibility among bettors. Online Wagering in Colorado Takes Hold in the Fall Sports betting went live in Colorado on May 1, after […]

Indicted trainer Jason Servis, seen here sweating out the steward's inquiry in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, now faces a charge of wire fraud along with his horse doping charges. (Image: Lexington Herald Leader)

New Indictments Handed Down in Servis-Navarro Horse Doping Case

Federal prosecutors handed down superseding indictments Tuesday in the alleged horse doping scandal involving trainers Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro, and 12 other defendants. The new indictments tack on a charge of wire fraud to Servis and veterinarians Alexander Chan and Kristian Rhein. All three pleaded not guilty to the new […]

Currently, North American horseplayers bet using the pari-mutuel system, which pays out based on money wagered in a common pool. New Jersey may be the first US state allowing fixed-odds wagering on horse races. (Image: Ryan Denver/Equi-Photo)

New Jersey Moves One Step Closer to Fixed-Odds Horseracing Wagering

A bill expanding and legalizing fixed-odds wagering on New Jersey horse races emerged from committees in that state’s senate – a little more than a week after being introduced in New Jersey’s state legislature. The bill, allowing permanent fixed odds on races, enjoys bipartisan support in the state legislature. The […]

Valencia is one of several La Liga clubs currently featuring a gambling firm as the main sponsor on its shirts. (Image: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty)

Clubs, Operators Scramble After Spain Bans Soccer Team Gambling Sponsorships

Today, 17 of the 20 clubs in La Liga – Spain’s top-flight soccer league – enjoy some sort of sponsorship deal with one or more gaming firms. By next season, the Spanish government says that number will be zero. Last week, the Spanish government approved the Royal Decree on Commercial […]

Horsemen's Park in Omaha is one of six Nebraska racetracks benefiting from the state's voters approving three ballot initiatives last week. (Image: Horsemen's Park)

Nebraska Racing Gets a Casino Boost from the State’s Voters

While voters in three states recently approved sports betting in Election Day referendums, Nebraska voters overwhelmingly passed three state constitutional amendments of their own, allowing casino gambling at horseracing tracks throughout the Cornhusker State. All three measures, labeled Initiatives 429, 430, and 431, passed by nearly 2-to-1 margins. This allows […]

Trainer Bob Baffert's Merneith tested positive for an excessive amount of a cough syrup ingredient. (Image: Coady Photography)

Merneith, Another Baffert Charge, Tests Positive for Banned Substance

The California Horse Racing Board revealed that another one of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s charges, Merneith, tested positive for a banned substance. Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a common ingredient found in human cough syrups. The test came after Merneith finished second in the fourth race at Del […]

Standout filly Gamine is in trouble again after testing positive for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory after last month's Kentucky Oaks. (Image: Skip Dickstein/For the Times Union)

Baffert Team Disputes Gamine’s Failed Kentucky Oaks Drug Test

After news broke late Thursday that a Kentucky Oaks horse tested positive for a Class C medical violation, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a statement that his star filly, Gamine, was the culprit. The New York Times, citing two sources, reported Thursday evening that Gamine tested positive […]

Derby City Gaming HHR machines in Louisville played their parts in fueling a $2.26 billion industry benefiting Kentucky racing and breeding. (Image: WDRB.com)

Kentucky Horse Racing Industry Goes on Offensive for HHR Machines

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association petitioned to file an amicus brief this week, seeking a return of the historical horse racing (HHR) machines recently outlawed by the Kentucky Supreme Court. The petition comes on the heels of an amicus brief filed last week by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce illustrating the […]