SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.

Warts And All, IL Senate Passes Capital Bill With Sports Betting

Less than 24 hours after the Illinois House approved a massive capital bill that includes sports betting, the Illinois Senate concurred Sunday, voting 46-10-2. During discussion ahead of the vote on SB 690, it was clear that daily fantasy and online sportsbook operators are not happy with what sports betting will look like in the biggest market state to legalize this year.

Full story here.

Handle Down In April, May? That’s Not Cause For Concern

Swoon. Decline. Dwindling. Shrinking.

Sports betting tax revenue has not exceeded expectations in most non-New Jersey states (in most cases due to overestimations), and now the sleepier days on the U.S. betting calendar are approaching, following the soon-to-conclude NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Some in the media have suggested that April declines in betting handle are cause for concern, that maybe less than a year after the Supreme Court opened the door for legal sports betting on a state-by-state basis that consumers are losing interest.

Hogwash.

Full story here.

How ‘Unofficial’ Sports Betting Data May Be Better Than ‘Official League Data’

Legislatures in two states — Illinois and Tennessee — have now passed laws mandating that to-be licensed sportsbooks purchase only “official” league data if they wish to offer live in-play wagering.

Have you ever wondered, what the heck is official data, and how does it differ in origin and practice from “unofficial” data? Great. The goal of this article is to answer that — through a conversation with a pair of entrepreneurs who are developing an in-play wagering product for the sportsbooks in states that are giving operators the freedom of choice. (As opposed to the opportunity to have “official data” paywalled by the NBA and MLB, who are seeking a direct cut of wagers or additional fees as a precondition of receiving data.)

Full story here.

Antitrust Tripwires: Legal Expert Explains Sports Betting Data Issues

In overtime this past weekend, the Illinois legislature passed SB 690, which mandates that to-be licensed sports betting operators use only “official league data” for in-play wagering. This comes one month after Tennessee lawmakers did the same.

This is part of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball-led strategy for dominating the market on sports betting data in the U.S.

Numerous industry observers, put simply, see the leagues forming a data monopoly.

Full story here.

James Holzhauer Bucks Trend, Receives Jeopardy! Winnings Before Nation Learns Of Crushing Defeat

James Holzhauer may be using his some of his Jeopardy! winnings on a massive wager for the opening weekend of football season, after all.

Holzhauer’s 32-game winning streak officially came to an end on an episode that aired Monday when the professional sports bettor finished second to Emma Boettcher, a user experience librarian from Chicago. Boettcher won the game with $46,801, finishing ahead of Holzhauer by more than $20,000.

Full story here.