U.S. sports betting revenue could hit $3B in 2021
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. » On a day when New York’s governor did an about-face and embraced mobile sports betting as a way to deal with financial losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, a company that tracks gambling legislation and performance predicted that revenue from legal sports betting could reach $3.1 billion in 2021 and as much as $10 billion within five years.
VIXIO Gambling Compliance issued a report Wednesday projecting that at least six and as many as 14 additional states will legalize or expand sports betting in 2021. That fits with projections by numerous analysts that nearly half the country may have legalized sports betting by the end of this year.
The company estimated revenue from sports betting would reach $2.6 billion to $3.1 billion this year, an increase over the $1.55 billion it estimates will have been generated from in 2020.
Whan makes decision to leave as LPGA commissioner
Mike Whan has been commissioner longer than anyone in the 70year history of the LPGA Tour. Guiding it through its toughest year amid the COVID-19 pandemic made him realize the tour was strong enough for him to move on.
In a surprise announcement, the high-energy, fast-talking Whan said he will be leaving after 11 years.
Whan said he had been thinking about stepping down for the last few years and always found unfinished work, even as the self-sustaining LPGA Tour kept increasing its schedule and prize money and expanding the participation of junior girls.
“Watching us work through the pandemic of 2020 was the visualization I needed to know that it was not only time, but it was right,” Whan said in a conference call.
Kasatkina wins 1st women’s tennis match of new season
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES » Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari won their opening matches Wednesday as the women’s tennis season began at the Abu Dhabi Open.
The WTA set up the Abu Dhabi tournament last month to give players more time to prepare for the the Australian Open, which was postponed from its usual January dates to mid-February.
Kasatkina was the first winner of the new season, beating Wang Qiang 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 after trailing 2-0 in the deciding set. It was the Russian’s first match since October, and Wang’s first since March.
U.S. women open camp
Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd have returned after missing most of last year as the U.S. women’s national team prepares to open training camp this weekend in Florida.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski announced the 27-player roster for the Orlando camp, which will be capped by a pair of exhibition matches against Colombia at the end of the month.
Alex Morgan, who said she has contracted the coronavirus, was among the players left off of the roster as the team prepares for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Also returning to the roster is Mallory Pugh, who was sidelined for much of last year.