Casino News: Ohio Gets Boost From Betting, Illegal Books & More

This week’s casino news starts off with a bizarre gambling story from minor league hockey. Is it another case where sports betting and gambling have infiltrated the game?

Twitter Post Claims That Hounds Player Is Involved in Bookie Operation

The Soo Greyhounds Hockey Club was just informed by an anonymous Twitter post about a player being involved in gambling. An accusation was made at a player on their roster with the post detailing that how a specific someone is involved in a bookmaking operation. For now, that player denies it.

The post has singled out goaltender Tucker Tynan specifically but Tynan said was quite to refute the claims. “At first, I thought it was a joke,” responded Tynan, “Maybe a buddy was playing a small prank.”

Tynan later continued that the anonymous poster had contacted him in order to extort money out of him. They told the 19-year-old goaltender that they were owed money from somebody that he knew, so he would have to pay the price for it. Unfortunately, Tynan has received hundreds of hate messages over the accusations made towards him. At this point, there isn’t enough evidence in the public forum to know which side is telling the truth.

The accusations are currently being looked into by the league and by the organization. There is no other information at the moment regarding this investigation but the league is big on taking gambling matters very seriously. What does seem odd is that this isn’t an NHL or big hockey league. It might be difficult to place bets on this level of hockey, so it’s possible that the goaltender is being falsely accused.

Sports Betting Launches At Hollywood Casino In Perryville

A sports betting license has officially been handed out to Hollywood Casino in Perryville. This casino now marks as the fifth to open up a sports betting market in the state of Maryland, which follows Live! Casino, Horseshoe, Ocean Downs, and MGM National Harbor. Other entities that are involved in the sports betting law in the state include Long Shot’s, Greenmount Station, and Riverboat. None of those have begun to accept sports wagers yet but they plan on doing so in early 2022.

30 states along with Washington, D.C. have been able to get sports betting legalized. All of Maryland’s neighboring states have done so as well, including Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. This is important as a number of people from Maryland had been looking elsewhere for their action. Now they can stay in-state.

The residents of Maryland were given the opportunity to vote on legalizing sports betting back in the 2020 election. Those voters were able to pass the bill by a margin of 2 to 1, so now we’re seeing this come to fruition.

Ohio’s Coffers Will See Huge Boost From Legalized Sports Betting

Ohio is on its way to getting legal sports betting in the state and they are projected to reap millions of dollars in benefits because of it. Governor Mike DeWine officially signed the bill last week, confirming what everyone had been hoping for. Residents in the state are now able to place bets at different casinos and professional sports stadiums. They can also wager online.

The Ohio Legislative Service Commission estimated that Ohio could see $3.35 billion in gaming revenue after the first few years of their sports betting operations. Sports betting could start their journey with $7 million in the first half of the 2023 year, and then $24 million at the end of their first full year.

DeWine was asked why he was excited about signing the bill into law and his answer is what many had expected: “I think that sports betting is occurring already in Ohio. People are walking around with apps. They’re going offshore, so it’s time to bring in Ohio.”

Much of that revenue will go towards helping public schools, infrastructure, and other social programs.