It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad). Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top U.S. sports betting headlines, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.

While it remains to be seen just how successful Fanatics Betting and Gaming will be as the newest big-boy entrant in the sports betting space, there’s no question it wants to be a major challenger to the top dogs. Recent events in New England make that just as clear as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ intent to outspend every other non-government entity in the world (with the possible exception of LIV Golf).

Fanatics Sportsbook had a soft launch this week in its new partnership with the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. Come Monday, it will be a full-fledged, 24/7, one-on-one-on-one competitor in the state with FanDuel and DraftKings, as they are the only three entities with betting apps authorized to operate in Connecticut. The goal of the giant sports merchandise-turned-sports betting entrepreneur is to improve upon the 15% share of the market previously attained by Rush Street’s PlaySugarHouse sportsbook in Connecticut.

If Fanatics learns anything quickly from that three-way competition, it can put it to use a month from now in Vermont. It was announced this week that the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery has awarded contracts to the same three operators — and only those operators — to provide sports betting in that state beginning Jan. 11.

Also this week, Fanatics announced it will soon have its flag planted in North Carolina sports betting. It is partnering with the Carolina Hurricanes to obtain mobile access in the state, the fourth operator to reach such an agreement as the Tar Heel State prepares to launch legal betting sometime between February and June.

One of Fanatics’ current betting states is Ohio, and Sports Handle reported this week that the company took the lead there in raising concerns about a regulatory proposal in the state addressing how sportsbooks can tie non-gambling consumer transactions to betting bonuses. Fanatics and FanDuel both contend the Ohio Casino Control Commission’s proposal is unrealistic in requiring sportsbook operators to verify before making any offers to them that those who make non-gaming purchases are at least 21 years old.

Meanwhile, in looking to the future of a still more lucrative sector than sports betting, Fanatics has delivered its online casino product to West Virginians, with plans for Pennsylvania to be added next. That news was reported by our affiliate site, US Bets.

To keep up to date on all news involving the new Fanatics and everyone else in the legalized gambling industry, you’ll want to read the wide-ranging coverage provided by the staffs of both Sports Handle and US Bets, as shown in the stories of the past week linked below. And be sure to check out US Bets’ own weekly Double Down recap in addition to its Gamble On podcast.

ESPN BET’s first month in line with analysts’ estimates, preliminary data shows

Could Hard Rock Bet Florida surpass all of New York in monthly handle?

Has the time come to incentivize gamblers to use responsible gambling tools?

Resignation of Entain CEO may reignite calls for BetMGM divorce

Ex-Jags employee facing up to 30 years in prison for stealing $22M to fund gambling

GambleID says its new product could stop an athlete’s bet — and potential suspension

Massachusetts: DraftKings broke state law in accepting out-of-state credit card funds

North Carolina Lottery approves set of sports betting rules

Ohio focusing further on how to address harassment of college athletes

Illinois sets all-time monthly highs for sports wagering in banner October

New York mobile books rout public, collect $56.9 million for week

Massachusetts posts record $654 million sports wagering handle for November

Colorado the latest to reach $1 billion in operator gross revenue

Maryland posts record $550 million handle as ESPN BET makes strong debut

Kentucky breaks from the gates with $340 million handle in September and October

Indiana sports betting handle hits record $513 million in November

The Public Health Advocacy Institute has filed a lawsuit against DraftKings claiming the company was not clear enough in its Massachusetts sports betting promotional offerings. The group based at the Northeastern University School of Law says DraftKings did not appropriately explain the requirements of a $1,000 sign-up bonus offer. Consumers are required to deposit $5,000 and play $25,000 over 90 days to qualify.

The group called DraftKings “deceptive” and wrote that the offer was made to new — and by extension, uneducated — customers who were “unlikely to understand” the nuances of the promotion. The suit was filed in Middlesex County Court in Massachusetts, and DraftKings has plans to fight the case, according to SBC Americas.

Unlike with the NBA and NFL, where pro prospects have at least a cup of coffee in college before ascending the ranks, the majority of top Major League Baseball prospects make the leap straight from high school to the minor leagues. That helps explain why MLB is partnering with EPIC Global Solutions and the Entain Foundation to educate minor league players about how to avoid gambling-related harm.

The partnership, which will get underway in 2024, will feature lived-experience educational sessions with EPIC facilitators like former pro baseball player Ryan Tatusko, who struggled mightily with gambling addiction before entering recovery and getting his life in order.

“Our younger minor league players in particular are coming into the league at a time when mobile sports betting is an increasingly prominent part of the sports ecosystem,” Quest Meeks, Major League Baseball’s vice president of sports betting and compliance, said in a press release. “We want to help those players avoid gambling-related pitfalls that can derail not only their careers, but also their day-to-day lives more generally.”

West Flagler and Associates, the parimutuels that are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis et al over Florida sports betting, this week filed a motion asking to be allowed up to 7,500 words in its rebuttal to DeSantis’ response in the case pending with the state’s Supreme Court.

West Flagler is not asking for any additional time, but it wrote that the Florida Seminole Tribe’s’ amicus brief on behalf of its  gambling compact with the state “greatly expands on and includes new arguments” in the case. Reply briefs traditionally have a word limit of 4,000, and WFA is asking for 7,500.

The Florida Supreme Court is currently considering whether to accept the case.

Now, they're the new favorite at +550 pic.twitter.com/VWQDzM9bxF

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) December 9, 2023

IT ALL ADS UP: Google Ads to update gambling advertising policy in the U.S. [CDC Gaming Reports]

FANDUEL GETS SOME SCRUTINY: Top U.S. betting firm lobbied against rules to protect young people and problem gamblers [The Guardian]

A WIN VIA A TENNIS MATCH: Sportradar scores global tennis data and streaming deal with ATP [iGaming Business]

ATTORNEY GENERAL’S ON THE CASE: Florida AG investigating CFP over Florida State’s exclusion [ESPN.com]

— Athlon Sports (@AthlonSports) December 12, 2023

SIMPLY MORE BETTING THAN EVER: Simplebet announces 120 percent increase in wagers for 2023 college football season [CDC Gaming Reports]

A GAP IN ILLINOIS BETTING: Wait continues for sportsbook at Danville casino [The News-Gazette]

TENNESSEE SETS A NEW HIGH: Tennessee passes $500M handle for first time in November [iGaming Business]

TIME FOR AN AC UPGRADE: Opinion: Atlantic City must improve with New York City casinos coming [WPG]